1. Developing resilience through
classroom-based interventions
Evidence from Japan
Chieko Kibe
Department of Psychology
Ochanomizu University
Tokyo, Japan
Chieko.kibe@gmail.com
03/ July/ 2014

2. The world youth
• About 11%of adolescents have a depressive
disorder by 18 (NIMH, 2014)
• The youth well-being of US and UK were ranked at
the bottom 2 out of 21 industrialized countries
(UNICEF, 2007)

3. The Japanese youth
(n=1113)
(n=3933)
(n=1176)
(n=1011)
(Japan Youth Research Institute, 2011)

4. Can classroom based intervention
promote students resilience?
Resilience is…
The flexibility in response to changing situational
demands, and the ability to bounce back from negative
emotional experiences (Tugade et al., 2004)

5. SPARK(Boniwell & Ryan, 2009)
12 X 60min lessons
For children 11+
Resilience
Post traumatic growth
Cognitive behavioral therapy(CBT)
Positive psychology

6. Resilience
Teaching resilience skills early acts as an
inoculation against depression
Resilience skills develop hopeful, optimistic,
productive attitudes
Never too late or too early

7. Post traumatic growth
The ability to find positive benefits from a stressful
or traumatic experience
Outcome of dealing with the trauma

8. CBT framework

9. The Blamer spends
its time blaming
other people for the
situation. It looks
rather bullish and
puffed up. It often
feels angry.
The Blamer
He/she is
so stupid!
They always
do it to me!
It’s all their
fault!
They need to think
about what they do
more carefully

10. HERE’S THE AVIARY...
In the bird cage

11. HERE’S THE AVIARY...
Resilience muscles

12. Procedure
• Program delivery
School counsellor (S.C.)
Localization
1st grade(n=91): part 1 & 2
3rd grade(n=87): part 1
• Assessment
Pre-/Post- intervention
S.C.
Researchers
Teachers
Students

13. Hypothesis
1. Students differ their resilience level individually as
well as developmentally.
2. Less resilient individuals benefit more in response
to the intervention.
Psychobiology theory of Personality (Cloninger, 1993)
Differential susceptibility theory(Pluess & Belsky, 2010)

14. Measurement
• Resilience (Bidimensional Resilience Scale: Hirano, 2010)
Based on Temperament and Character Inventory
(Cloninger, 1993)
Psychobiological model of personality
Character
Acquired Resilience
Temperament
Innate Resilience

15. Results
Overall impacts of intervention
N=178
*p<.05, **p<.01, *** p <.001
*
***
***

16. Developmental differences (t1)
***
*p<.05, **p<.01, *** p <.001

17. Differential group benefits(t2-t1)
*p<.05, **p<.01, *** p <.001
****

18. Students feedbacks
“I realized my own pattern of perception, I think
I understand myself better now.”
“Learning resilience enabled me to see
things from multiple perspectives.”
“I came to know that negatives are not necessarily
bad, and what really matters is my own attitude.”

19. Conclusion
• Classroom based intervention can promote students’
resilience
• Developmental and individual differences must be
addressed
• Effectiveness of intervention may differ according to
the dimensions (i.e. innate and acquired)
• Continuing empirical validation is crucial for
sustainable resilience promotion

20. Acknowledgement
<Ikubunkan Institute of Education>

21. Thank you for your attention!