Vulnerability and resilience among children continues to be a popular topic in developmental psychology research. The two definitions are closely linked to each other as they are considered both sides of the spectrum. Schaffer (2006) defines vulnerability and resilience “as the susceptibility to develop dysfunction following exposure to stressful life events, as opposed to the ability to maintain competent functional stress.” If stressful life events are the trigger, why are some children much more vulnerable, while others are more resilient? The three studies discussed in this article will try to explain why these differences occur and what we can do to improve protective factors. A simple way to conceptualize the term resilient is defined by Berger (2008). Berger (2008) refers to resilience “as the ability to adapt well to significant adversity and to overcome severe stress”. According to Berger (2008) this definition consists of three parts: resilience is dynamic, it is a positive adaptation to stress and adversity must be significant. Regarding Berger's first part, it is clear that resilience is dynamic. In one article, a 14-year-old girl was described as absent from her institutionalized mother and because of this she was responsible for caring for her younger siblings and her alcoholic father (Alvord & Grados, 2005). The results of a longitudinal study concluded that although she should have entered into an avoidant relationship with a future partner, she went on to form a secure and long-lasting marriage. The article asks if she was good at handling the situation (resilient) or was she invulnerable? The second part of Berger's definition is the fact that resilience is a positive adaptation to str...... middle of article ......000-2-7Kim-Cohen, J., Moffitt, T.E. Caspi, A., & Taylor, A. (2004). Genetic and environmental processes in young children's resilience and vulnerability to socioeconomic deprivation. Child Development, 75(3), 651-668. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00699.xKitano, M. K., & Lewis, R. B. (2005). Resilience and coping: Implications for gifted children and at-risk youth. Roeper Review, 27(4), 200-205. doi:10.1080/02783190509554319Matheson, M., Clark, C., Martin, R., Van Kempen, E., Haines, M., Barrio, I., & ... Stansfeld, S. (2010). The effects of road traffic and aircraft noise exposure on children's episodic memory: the RANCH project. Noise and Health, 12(49), 244-254. doi:10.4103/1463-1741.70503Schaffer, H. R. (2006). Key concepts in developmental psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Ltd