What are the 7 C's of building resilience?

The 7 Cs of resilience can also be used in an adult context. They are: Competence – knowing how to handle situations effectively. Confidence – knowing you are competent. Connection – having close ties to family, friends and community. Character – having a fundamental sense of right and wrong. Contribution – contributing to your community, which can bring a sense of purpose. Coping – learning to cope with stress. Control – understanding that you can control the outcomes of your decisions. Reflecting on how developed each of your Cs are can give you an insight into where you might need to do more work.

Dr Ginsburg, child paediatrician and human development expert, proposes that there are 7 integral and interrelated components that make up being resilient – competence, confidence, connection, character, contribution, coping and control. Each of these 7 C’s are explained briefly here and in our child and youth resilience group program, our sessions have been crafted carefully in order to include content and group processes that will enhance each and every one of the 7 C’s. 1. Competence – is the ability to know how to handle stressful situations effectively. 2. Confidence – is the belief in one’s own abilities and is rooted in competence. 3. Connection – children with close ties to friends, family, and community groups are likely to have a stronger sense of security and sense of belonging. 4. Character – children with character enjoy a strong sense of self-worth and confidence. 5. Contribution – if children can experience personally contributing to the world, they can learn the powerful lesson that the world is a better place because they are in it. 6. Coping – children who have a wide repertoire of coping skills are able to cope more effectively and are better prepared to overcome life’s challenges. 7. Control – when children realise that they have control over their decisions and actions, they are more likely to know how to make choices in a way that they can bounce back from life’s challenges.

The seven Cs of resilience and how to build it in children. There are seven qualities that can help build resilience. Competence, the ability to effectively handle various situations, acquired through experience. Confidence, solid belief in one’s own abilities, the ability to face and cope with life’s challenges. Connection, close ties to family, friends, school, and community give children a solid sense of security that produces strong values. Character, a fundamental sense of right and wrong that allows children to stick to their own values and demonstrate a caring attitude toward others. Contribution, understand that the child can make the world a better place, gives children a sense of purpose and motivates them to take actions and make choices that will improve the world. Coping, capacity to enact a wide array of positive, adaptive coping strategies protects against unsafe behaviors. Control, children who realize that they can control the outcomes of their decisions have more trust in their ability to handle adverse situations.