Executive Functioning & Resilience

This month in the CARE, students are learning about resilience: the ability to adapt to challenges and stress. The relationship between resilience and executive functioning is crucial, as executive functioning plays a key role in building resilience. Specifically, executive functioning skills, which consist of impulse control, cognitive flexibility and working memory, can strengthen and help build resilience in children. Executive functioning, in particular, can be strengthened through instruction and modelling (Diamond, 2013) and then further improved by secure attachments, positive guidance, support systems, creativity, exercise, mindfulness and emotional understanding (Pearce & Davis, 2021). Research has shown that to increase resilience in children, they must have at least one supportive, reliable and nurturing relationship with an adult.

Additionally, having healthy executive functioning skills can strengthen resilience. For example, when individuals have the skills to regulate their emotions (executive functioning), they are better able to “bounce back” from challenging situations (resilience) (Joseph & Linley, 2014). Executive functioning can be developed through modelling, which in turn helps to strengthen and build resilience in children.

To learn more about how to help your child expand their executive functioning skills to build resilience, please explore the resources below.