A scoping review of research on family resilience in South Africa: What is known and what are the gaps?

Families are a central building block of society. The social work profession has always been invested in strengthening family life, and one of the ways this can be done is by building family resilience. South African social workers should base their work with families on solid research on family resilience and conduct some of this research themselves. The study aimed to answer the question: What is known about the research on family resilience in South Africa? The answers to this question would aid social workers and people from other disciplines to conduct their own research on this important topic to fill gaps identified in the review. Following the PRISMA guidelines, the authors conducted a scoping review of 251 publications in South Africa on family resilience between 2004 and 2023, generating 59 eligible journal articles, theses or dissertations. Most studies were conducted by psychologists and only four by social workers. Although numerous risks are addressed, several risks important for social work have not been studied, e.g. fostering, teenage pregnancy and family reunification. Family resilience is conceptualised as an intrafamilial process in nine out of ten studies – few focus on the family’s social ecology. Social workers are well placed to study families within their broader context. Most studies used mixed methods or qualitative designs, but none interviewed whole families. Recommendations for social work family resilience research are offered to address gaps in the current literature and to increase social work’s contribution to understanding family resilience.