Michael Ungar



Canada Research Chair in Child, Family and Community Resilience

Tier 1 - 2017-11-01
Renewed: 2022-11-01
Dalhousie University
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council

902-494-3445
Michael.Ungar@dal.ca

Research involves


Developing theories about child, family and community resilience globally.

Research relevance


This research will identify the protective factors and processes that make it possible for children, families and communities to succeed across diverse contexts and cultures.

Research summary


We know far more about what causes child, family and community dysfunction than we do about how people handle it. But resilience research shifts the focus from what’s going wrong to what helps people cope using the resources at their disposal. As Canada Research Chair in Child, Family and Community Resilience, Dr. Michael Ungar is exploring how biological, psychological, social, economic and ecological systems interact to produce positive change during adversity.

Through a series of international and domestic longitudinal studies, he and his research team are determining which factors are most important for resilience across the lifespan and across cultures and contexts. Their work is laying the foundation for the creation of numerous knowledge-sharing initiatives to help build resilience among stressed populations, from books to blogs, podcasts and curricula.