The study aimed at investigating the functioning of communities in the aftermath of continuous challenges and identifying standards for describing resilient paths based on the perspective of community members. A qualitative investigation was carried out in 11 territorial communities of Salento, in southern Italy. Fifty-two key informants were interviewed and interview transcripts were submitted to thematic content analysis through Atlas.Ti. Overall, the interviewees reported that their communities suffer from a varied set of complex and interrelated adverse circumstances that have increased their vulnerability. The respondents have a clear idea about the community strengths and weaknesses that either allow or impede adaptive responses, though they did not understand the latter in separation from the slow-onset events that have contributed to causing them. On the basis of findings, resilient paths facing continuous challenges can be described as trajectories of functioning allowing the communities to survive and progress through adaptive and maladaptive responses.
Keywords: chronic stressors; community resilience; content analysis; qualitative research; slow-onset processes; thematic analysis.
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