[Resilience in old age]

The aim of this study was to characterise and analyse articles published on resilience and old-age from 1990-2006. After a systematic search of five databases (Academic Search Premier-Ebsco Host, Medline, Psyc Articles, Ovid and Science Direct) 33 pieces of literature were included in the analysis. The selected articles had 31 different definitions of resilience, from eight disciplines, mainly health-related fields. It was also found that the research studied the association of resilience with individual (68 variables) and social/environmental factors (17 variables); the most frequent were age and health self-perception. Cultural and religious values were of special interest amongst the latter variables. The literature review demonstrated that resilience in old age is a topic having increasing research interest; this has been linked to various individual, social and cultural factors. However, this is a rapidly developing area that requires that a unified definition be established and that a theoretical and intervention model be created.