4 Inter-individual variability and factors that contribute ‘resilience’ to anxiety and depression

Another key issue that generates considerable debate is the extent to which inter-individual vulnerability and factors that contribute to resilience vary amongst different individuals. Developmental and genetic susceptibility are key considerations in this debate. Factors that are thought to contribute to ‘resilience’ include: parenting, secure attachment, and trauma in early life, stress exposure during adolescence, lifestyle factors (such as diet, exercise, environment, positive social interaction, positive emotion, life purpose, spirituality), the stress circuitry (HPA axis), genetic and environmental interactions, epigenetics, and plasticity (adaptation) within the neural networks governing stress and reward.