Background and objectives: This paper addresses psychological resilience, a multidisciplinary theoretical construct with important practical implications for health sciences. Although many definitions have been proposed in several contexts, an essential understanding of the concept is still lacking up to now. This negatively affects comparisons among research results and makes objective measurement difficult. The aim of this review is to identify shared elements in defining the construct of resilience across the literature examined in order to move toward a conceptual unification of the term. Materials and methods: A literature review was performed using the electronic databases ‘PubMed’ and ‘PsycINFO’. Scientific studies written in English between 2002 and May 2019 were included according to the following key terms: ‘Psychological’, ‘resilience’, and ‘definition’. Results: The review identifies five macro-categories that summarize what has been reported in the recent literature concerning the resilience phenomenon. They serve as a preliminary and necessary step toward a conceptual clarification of the construct. Conclusions: We propose a definition of psychological resilience as the ability to maintain the persistence of one’s orientation towards existential purposes. It constitutes a transversal attitude that can be understood as the ability to overcome the difficulties experienced in the different areas of one’s life with perseverance, as well as good awareness of oneself and one’s own internal coherence by activating a personal growth project. The conceptual clarification proposed will contribute to improving the accuracy of research on this topic by suggesting future paths of investigation aimed at deeply exploring the issues surrounding the promotion of resilience resources.

COVID-19 epidemic has been spreading in the world causing strong psychological pressure for the global population. Quarantine has huge impact and can cause considerable psychological stress. The study aims to identify psychological stress, emotional changes, approach to studies, resilience skills related to the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic in a sample of university students. A sample of university students from the Campus Bio Medico University of Rome was studied. The participants responded to an online questionnaire packet that included socio-demographic information, COVID-19 impact on emotions and on university life, perceived stress (PSS-10) and resilience skills (RS-14). We received 955 responses. The respondents experienced an increase in perceived stress in 89.4% of cases (66% stress moderate and 23.4% high). Moreover, 54.4% of students reported decrease in attention span and difficulty in studying with consequent concern about the exam outcomes (55%). Resilience skills positively affect stressful events and in particular the COVID-19 impact on study and interpersonal relationships. The study shows a psychological impact of the Covid-19 emergency on college students. Stress significantly decreases learning and negatively affects psychological well-being of students. Resilience skills were a protective factor to overcome difficulties learning.

Cancer diagnosis not only shakes the lives of those who are affected, but also has impacts on the entire family system, which is involved as if it were itself an organism affected by cancer. The oncological illness may cause a breakdown of the existing balance in the family system and demands a progressive degree of mutual adaptation to family members. The ‘VoiNoi’ Listening Centre of the Campus Bio-Medico University Hospital in Rome has been close to caregivers for several years, to support them in the difficult task of providing assistance through individual or group psychological support therapy and health education. The ‘Charter of Rights for Family Caregivers’ stems from the experience gained over the years, with the aim of protecting, supporting and strengthening the role and the assistance activity that families carry out in support of their loved ones under conditions of fragility.