The Role of Family in Children’s Psychological Resilience in the Face of Social Crises

Abstract

This study aimed to identify and explain family-centered processes and strategies that contribute to the development and strengthening of children’s psychological resilience when facing social crises. This qualitative study was conducted using thematic analysis. The participants were 24 parents of children aged 8–15 years residing in Tehran whose children had experienced at least one major social crisis during the previous three years, including economic insecurity, pandemic-related disruption, social unrest and insecurity, forced relocation, or bereavement associated with a collective event. Participants were recruited through purposive maximum-variation sampling. Data were collected exclusively through individual semi-structured interviews. Theoretical saturation was achieved at the twenty-first interview, and three additional interviews were conducted to confirm data adequacy. Interviews were audio-recorded with permission, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using the six-phase thematic analysis procedure. NVivo software was used to organize transcripts, codes, and emerging themes. Credibility and trustworthiness were enhanced through participant checking, peer review, maintenance of an audit trail, maximum-variation sampling, and detailed documentation of the analytical process. Analysis generated 73 initial codes, 16 subcategories, and five main categories: creating emotional security through responsive and reliable parental presence; age-appropriate and transparent communication accompanied by shared emotion regulation; preservation of daily routines and flexible family organization; parental modeling of adaptive coping, meaning-making, and realistic hope; and strengthening children’s agency while mobilizing family, educational, and community support networks. Parents reported that acknowledging children’s emotions, remaining physically and emotionally available, providing comprehensible information, reducing exposure to distressing media content, and involving children in age-appropriate decisions decreased anxiety, confusion, and helplessness. In contrast, parental catastrophizing, emotional withdrawal, inconsistent rules, concealment of important information, and repeated exposure to threatening news appeared to intensify children’s distress. Children’s resilience should not be conceptualized solely as an individual trait; rather, it develops through dynamic interactions within the family and broader social ecology. Families can buffer the psychological consequences of social crises by providing security, emotional co-regulation, coherent meaning, predictable routines, and opportunities for child participation. Resilience-focused programs should therefore combine parental education, family-strengthening interventions, school collaboration, and accessible psychosocial services.