International Association for Relationship Research (IARR) 2024 Main Conference
We attended the IARR 2024 Main Conference organized by the International Association for Relationship Research (IARR) in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 5-9, 2024, as the Family Strengthening Project Team—our project coordinator Assoc. Prof. Didem Aydoğan presented “How Strong We Are Together in the Face of Economic Hardships: Examination of Resilience in Low-Income Families.” The presentation shared research results on how economic hardships explain the resilience of low-income families. The study, which involved 1061 family members in Aydın province who experienced hardship due to low economic income, is the first study to examine the relationships between economic hardship, family protective factors (family coping and family functioning resources), and family resilience, and provides a framework based on the Family Stress Model.
In the session that continued in the afternoon of July 7, one of our project researchers, Assoc. Prof. Nazlı Büşra Akçabozan Kayabol presented the study titled “An Investigation of Family Resilience in Turkish Low-Income Family Context: Practitioner Perspectives and Experiences.” Within the scope of our project, which is based on a data-driven, culturally sensitive, systemic, and social-ecological perspective with a collaborative research method, the results of the study, which examined in-depth the views of 22 practitioners (e.g., psychologists, sociologists, psychological counselors, social workers, and social policy experts) working with low-income families in Turkey on improving family resilience, were shared. The study, which was designed with a qualitative methodology, revealed themes including family structure, multiple challenges of families, effects of global issues on families, spouses' reactions to economic challenges, meaning-making processes from economic challenges, family management styles for economic challenges, family functioning resources, recommendations for social policy experts, and problems faced by practitioners.
It has been a very exciting and proud experience for us to have our project's qualitative and quantitative outputs on the international platform regarding the promotion and dissemination of our project.
Family Resilience in The Face of Economic Hardship
Our project coordinator Assoc. Prof. Didem Aydoğan came together with psychological counselors with her “Family Resilience in the Face of Economic Difficulties” presentation in the program organized by Sıdıka Akdemir Guidance and Research Center on November 30, 2023.
From Trauma to Recovery 3rd Symposium
We participated as the Family Strengthening Project team in the From Trauma to Recovery 3rd Symposium held on May 17, 2024 in cooperation with Gaziantep Province Directorate of National Education and Hasan Kalyoncu University, Department of Guidance and Psychological Counseling. The symposium was attended by the Vice Provincial Director of National Education, vice-rectors, academic and administrative staff of the University, and our project coordinator, Assoc. Prof. Didem Aydoğan shared information on 'Developing Family Resilience: How Communities Can Address Family Crisis' with school psychological counselors in Gaziantep and the neighboring provinces.
Emphasizing the importance of understanding family resilience, Assoc. Prof. Didem Aydoğan also gave information about the “Holistic Family Resilience Model” developed with a data-based, culturally sensitive, systemic, and social-ecological perspective through a co-production approach within the scope of our project work. She concluded her presentation by discussing the importance of family resilience in the rights-based approach and focusing on strategies to develop and strengthen families in the future. The event ended with Mehmet Ali Tiryakioğlu, Vice Provincial Director of National Education, presenting a certificate of appreciation to Assoc. Prof. Didem Aydoğan. In the session that continued in the symposium afternoon, Prof. Yaşar Özbay and Assoc. Prof. Didem Aydoğan conducted a workshop focusing on assessing family resilience resources with the participation of school psychological counselors.
Communication within the family Symposium
We started presenting the “Holistic Family Resilience Model” to school psychological counselors in Turkey, which we have worked on for a long time.
In collaboration with Bayraklı Guidance and Research Center, Çiğli Guidance and Research Center, and Buca Guidance and Research Center, we took part in the Symposium on Family Communication, which was organized at Yaşar University on September 25, 2024. In the panel program, we discussed the role of “intra-family communication and family problem solving” in the face of economic difficulties in the family in the context of family resilience. Besides we shared a brief description of the Holistic Family Resilience Model in context with the ecological model. We believe addressing resilience with a more systemic perspective and approach in society is necessary. Therefore, it is very valuable for us to come together with mental health professionals, practitioners, and anyone interested in resilience!
Developing and Strengthening Family Resilience
From our project team, Assoc. Prof. Didem Aydoğan and Research Assist. Seda Eren from our project team participated in the ‘Innovative Local In-Service Training Programme’ organized by Aydın Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services between October 14-18, 2024 and came together with professionals. Within the scope of the training, Assoc. Prof. Didem Aydoğan, in her presentation titled ‘Developing and Strengthening Family Resilience’, discussed the Social Ecological Model in the development of family resilience and introduced the Holistic Family Resilience Model prepared within the project's scope. Research Assist. Seda Eren informed the participants about recognizing parenting stress and coping strategies from the family resilience perspective. This training, an important step in disseminating project outputs, provided information to guide professionals to apply the resilience perspective while working with families.
Developing and Strengthening Family Resilience
Within the scope of the Family Strengthening Project, our project coordinator, Assoc. Prof. Didem Aydoğan met with parents at Oktaylar Science School in Aydın on December 1, 2024. The information presentation titled ‘Developing and Strengthening Family Resilience’ discussed the importance of family resilience, the effects of economic difficulties on the family system, developing family resilience through strong communication, and strategies to strengthen families by acting together. The presentation also addressed the role of parents in strengthening the family and provided practical suggestions on how to improve family resilience.
Women's Meetings Program in the Academy
Within the scope of the Women's Meetings in the Academy program, our project manager Assoc. Prof. Dr. Didem Aydoğan attended the event held in Söke on December 12, 2024 and gave a talk on "Family Resilience". In the presentation, the concept of "resilience" and how family resilience is defined were discussed in detail. In addition, individual, family and social difficulties and approaches that develop family resilience in coping with these difficulties were discussed. Within the scope of the Family Strengthening Project, the importance of acting together was emphasized, and the 'Holistic Family Resilience Model', an innovative approach to developing family resilience that is sensitive to culture and based on data, was introduced. In addition, practical methods for implementing this model were shared with psychological counselors.
Our Project Presented at NCFR 2024 Conference in Washington, USA
From November 20-23, 2024, our project team participated in the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) 2024 Main Conference, one of the world’s most prestigious conferences in the field of family studies, held in Washington, USA. As part of the conference theme, “Building Resilience Among Individuals, Families, and Communities”, our project consultant, Assoc. Prof. Suna Eryiğit-Madzwamuse, presented our research titled “Culturally Sensitive Social-Ecological Family Resilience Model: A Co-produced Mixed-Methods Study.”
In this presentation, we introduced the Holistic Family Resilience Model, which we developed using coproduction approach, data-driven methods, and a culturally sensitive perspective to assess resilience in families experiencing multiple challenges due to low income in Türkiye. Conducted with a mixed-methods design, the study combined:
The Holistic Family Resilience Model was identified based on the following key components: including personal characteristics of family members, positive outlook of family members, spirituality/belief systems of family members, organizational patterns of families for managing economic hardships/collaborative problem-solving, family communication processes in the face of economic hardships, family unity and cohesion—“weness” in the family, family routines and rituals, intra-family roles and boundaries, social support systems, community participation, access to social services/institutional support, and social policy regulations.
This study plays a significant role in the dissemination activities of our project. You can find more details in the publications section of our project website.
