As adults and children directly impacted by Hurricane Katrina begin to try to pick up the pieces and go on, mental health experts know some will fare better than others. Clearly, some individuals are more resilient than others in the wake of small and large-scale disasters. The question is: are they born that way or are there ways parents can help a child become more resilient?

“Resilience is a person’s ability to adapt quickly and effectively to adversity - their ability to bounce back,” said Robin Gurwitch, Ph.D. “The good news is resilience is something that can be learned. Resilience is something that can be grown and nurtured. So, all children have the ability to become more resilient.”

Gurwitch is a child psychologist with OU Children’s Physicians Child Study Center and has studied the impact of disasters, both natural and man-made, on children.

She explained their research found one factor that facilitates resilience in children is the support of parents, friends and other social groups, including faith and culture-based organizations. For children, parents and close friends were generally the primary source of support. Gurwitch said children who learned how to be empathetic through their interactions with others actually performed better in the face of trauma than those children who were loners or did not have friends or other support systems. Communication is another valuable tool in fostering resilience in children. “Children who discuss things that are difficult and how they feel about those things tend to be more resilient," she said.

Hope is very important too, according to Gurwitch. She said they found resilient children and adolescents tend to be optimistic.

“Children need to believe that they can do what they set their minds to,” she explained. “This fosters a sense of mastery where the child makes small steps or efforts to reach a goal. It is the effort that we want to reinforce.”

She added another way to help build resilience is to encourage children to resume or maintain normal routines, even in the aftermath of an event that disrupts their lives.

"Routine is a wonderful way to ensure a sense of security,” said Gurwitch, “but that does not mean overscheduled. It is important to try to establish or re-establish regular meal times and bed times, but remember children still need downtime to relax and just be.”

According to Gurwitch, children and their parents also need to stay healthy if they are to have the ability to bounce back in the face of difficult situations. “Kids who get plenty of rest, eat well and stay fit seem to be more resilient than children who don’t.”

She added that parents can help children better cope with stress by encouraging them to reach out and help someone else. “Kids who go out of their way to help others actually tend to do better when a crisis happens,” stated Gurwitch.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, she said parents might encourage their child to write letters to families displaced by the disaster or to the volunteers and rescue workers. "Your child may want to donate his or her allowance to relief efforts,” she said. “Your teenager may want to donate clothes. Such activities also help encourage that sense of altruism and help your child learn important lessons about how we help each other.”