Dr. Michael Ungar, PhD
Professor
Email: michael.ungar@dal.ca
Phone: 902-494-3445
Fax: 902-494-6709
Mailing Address:
tv University
Suite 3242, Mona Campbell Building,
1459 LeMarchant Street
PO Box 15000 Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2
- Mixed methods
- Resilience
- Child and adolescent mental health
- Family therapy
- Ecological social work
- Program evaluation
- Cross-cultural diversity research
- Delinquency
- Child development
- Social constructionism
Education
- BA, McGill
- BSW, McGill
- MSW, McGill
- PhD, Wilfred Laurier
Career
- Canada Research Chair in Child, Family and Community Resilience (2015-present)
- Professor, School of Social Work, tv University (cross appointment, Department of Psychology) (2007-present)
- Marriage and Family Clinical and Consultation Services, Charlottetown, P.E.I. and Halifax, N.S. (1993-2002)
- Senior Case Consultant, Young Offender Custody Programs, P.E.I. (1994-1998)
Websites
Professional Awards
- Fellow, Royal Society of Canada (2018-present)
- 2014 Thinker in Residence, Commissioner for Children and Young People, Western Australia
- Canadian Association of Social Workers National Distinguished Service Award (2012)
- Killam Professorship - Social Work (2011-2015)
- Canadian Association of Social Workers Distinguished Service Award for Nova Scotia (2010)
- University Research Professorship (2007-2011)
- First Prize ($10,000), Short Fiction, Toronto Sunday Star (2003)
- S.S.H.R.C. Doctoral Research Fellowship (1992-1995)
- F.C.A.R. Post-Graduate Scholarship (1987-1988)
- Gold Medal for Academic Excellence, Wilfrid Laurier University (1995)
Affiliations
- Board Member, Phoenix Youth Society, Halifax, NS (2021-present)
- Thought Leader, Canadian School Mental Health Leadership Network (2021-present)
- Honorary Board Member, Centre for Resilience and Socio-Emotional Health, University of Malta (2019-present)
- Member. Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Collaborative, Save the Children Denmark (2018-present)
- Member and Advocate, Council of Champions, Children First Canada (2018-present)
- Treasurer, American Family Therapy Academy (AFTA)
- Conference Chair: American Family Therapy Academy (AFTA) Annual Meeting (2012); Resilience Research Centre, Pathways to Resilience I, II, and III (2005, 2010, 2015)
- Co-Chair, Nova Scotia Mental Health and Addictions Strategy Advisory Committee (2010-2012)
- Member, National Framework Review Committee, Child and Youth Advisory Committee of the Mental Health Commission of Canada (The Evergreen Project)
- Clinical Supervisor, American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT)
- Board Member, Chair of Disciplinary Committee, NSASW Board of Examiners (2004-2010)
- Member, Editorial Committee: Qualitative Social Work (2004-present); Journal of Marital and Family Therapy (2013-present); Family Process (2008-present)
- Member, Consulting Editorial Committee, American Journal of Orthopsychiatry (2012-present); British Journal of Social Work (2008-2012).
Brief Biography
Michael Ungar, Ph.D., is the founder and Director of theat tv University where he holds the Canada Research Chair in Child, Family and Community Resilience. In 2022, Dr. Ungar was ranked the number one Social Work scholar in the world in recognition of his ground-breaking work as a family therapist and resilience researcher. That work has influenced the way human adaptation in stressful environments and organizational processes are understood and studied globally, with much of Dr. Ungar’s clinical work and scholarship focused on the resilience of marginalized children and families, and adult populations experiencing mental health challenges at home and in the workplace.
Dr. Ungar provides regular consultation to international NGOs like the Red Cross and Save the Children, government agencies in more than a dozen low, middle, and high-income countries, and educational institutions at all levels of study. He is the author of over 250 peer reviewed articles and book chapters and 17 books. These include Change Your World: The Science of Resilience and the True Path to Success, a book for adults experiencing stress at work and at home, Working with Children and Youth with Complex Needs, a book for mental health professionals and educators, and Multisystemic Resilience: Adaptation and Transformation in Contexts of Change, an open access edited volume with contributors from a dozen diverse disciplines ranging from epigenetics and psychology to architecture and computing science. His blog, Nurturing Resilience, can be read on Psychology Today’s website.
In recognition of his work, Dr. Ungar was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, is the past recipient of the National Distinguished Service Award from the Canadian Association of Social Workers, and has sat on the boards of numerous organizations such as the American Family Therapy Academy and Phoenix Youth Programs, and is national Champion for Children First Canada.
Selected Grants (Recent)
- Ungar, M. (Lead evaluator)(Start date January 1, 2021). Coaching for life. Program evaluation for Arsenal Football Foundation, in collaboration with Save the Children Denmark. Value: £27,000.
- Ungar, M. (Co-applicant)(Maria Liegghio, Applicant)(Start date December 1, 2020). Addressing trauma and fostering resilience in El Salvador. SSHRC Connections Grant. Value: $25,000 over 1 year.
- Ungar, M. (Lead Researcher)(Start date December 1, 2020). Settlement 3.0: Innovation and technology in the settlement sector in Canada. Host organization: PeaceGeeks, with funding from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Value: $40,900 over 4 months.
- Ungar, M. (Applicant)(Start date April 1, 2020). Youth Transition from Child Welfare to Precarious Living Conditions: A Mixed Methods Longitudinal Study of Risk and Protective Factors in Nova Scotia. Funding from Making the Shift: Youth Homelessness Solutions Impact Accelerator. Networks of Centres of Excellence, Canada. Value: $792,290 over 5 years.
- Collin-Vezina, D. (Applicant) et al.; Ungar, M. (Collaborator)(Start date April 1, 2020). Canadian Consortium on Child Trauma and Trauma-Informed Care. Value: $2.5M over 7 years.
- Bainbridge, R. (Applicant) et al.; Ungar, M. (Co-Investigator)(Start date January, 1, 2020). Strengthening Indigenous adolescent mental health and wellbeing: A multi-site mixed methods study. Value: AU$699,000 over 3 years.
- Theron, L. (Applicant) et al.; Ungar, M. (Co-Investigator)(Start date, April 15, 2019). Adolescent Resilience to Environmental and Socioeconomic Challenges: A Study of Multiple Systems. National Research Foundation, South Africa (SA (NRF) / Russia (RFBR) Joint Science and Technology Research Collaboration). Value (SA-only; Russian work comparably funded by RFBR): R895,750 SAR over three years.
- Ungar, M. (Applicant)(Start date April 1, 2020). Developing resilience training programs. Postdoctoral training award for Philip Jefferies. MITACS Global Accelerator grant. $60,000 over two years.
- Gaetz, S. (Applicant) et al.; Ungar, M. (Co-Applicant; Cluster co-lead)(Start date January 1, 2019). Making the Shift: Youth Homelessness Solutions Impact Accelerator. Networks of Centres of Excellence, Canada. Value: $17,800,000 over 5 years.
- Ungar, M. (Applicant)(Start date September 1, 2019). Program evaluation of Open New Tab (cyber-bullying prevention program). National Crime Prevention Centre. Hosted by YWCA Halifax. $250,000 over five years.
- Clark, J. N. (Applicant); Ungar, M. (Collaborator)(Start date April 1, 2017). A Comparative Study of Resilience in Survivors of War, Rape and Sexual Violence: New Directions for Transitional Justice. ERC Consolidator Grant, UK. Value: €1,790,580 over 5 years.
- Ungar, M. (Applicant)(Start date October 1, 2017). Understanding resilience across systems: a Workshop. Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Workshop Grant. Value: $50,000 over 1 year.
- Hassan, G. (Applicant) et al.; Ungar, M. (Collaborator)(Start date July 1, 2017). Canada Evidence-based Practitioners Network. Public Safety Canada. Value: $1,500,000 over 4 years.
- Ungar, M. (Applicant) et al. (Start date April 1, 2017). Canadian Child and Youth Refugee Research Coalition: Using research to inform best practices for language, literacy, learning, social integration, and child and family wellbeing. SSHRC Partnership Grant. Value: $2,500,000 over 5 years.
- Ungar, M. (Applicant) et al. (Start date December 1, 2016). Patterns of resilience among youth in contexts of petrochemical production and consumption in the Global North and Global South. CIHR Team Grant Environments and Health. Value: $2,000,000 over 5 years.
- Hart, A. (Applicant) et al; Ungar, M., (Co-applicant)(Start date November 1, 2016). Patterns of resilience among young people in a community affected by drought: Historical and contextual perspectives. GCRF Resilience Foundations Award 2016. Natural Environment Research Council, UK. Value: £164,447 over 1 year.
- Ungar, M. (Applicant) et al. (Start date August 10, 2016). Canada-Germany Research Collaboration. SSHRC Targeted Research: Syrian Refugee Arrival, Resettlement and Integration. Value: $25,000 over 1 year.
- Ramos, H. (Applicant) et al.; Ungar, M. (Co-applicant)(Start date July 15, 2016). Measuring the language and learning integration of Syrian refugee children and youth workshop. SSHRC Connections Grant. Value: $25,000 over 1 year.
- Ungar, M. (Applicant)(Start date June 23, 2016). Canadian Refugee Child, Youth and Family Research Coalition Meeting Support. SSHRC Presidential Fund for Research, Innovation and Collaboration. Value: $25,000 over 6 months.
- Grossman, M. (Applicant) & Ungar, M. (Co-Applicant)(Start date July 1, 2016). Understanding youth resilience to violence extremism: A standardized measure. Countering Violent Extremism Centre Attorney-Generals Department. Value: $150,000 over 1 year.
- Kobor, M. (Applicant) et al.; Ungar, M. (Co-Applicant)(Start date April 1, 2016). Prenatal programming of children’s mental health: Epigenetic mechanisms and resilience promotion. CIHR Team Grant DOHaD: Implications for Men, Women, Boys and Girls. Value: $1,500,000 over 5 years.
- Ungar, M. (Applicant) et al. (Start date December 1, 2015). Children and Youth in Challenging Contexts Network. Networks of Centres of Excellence Knowledge Mobilization Grants. Value: $1,200,000 over 3 years.
- Cox, R. (Applicant) & Ungar, M., (co-applicant) (Start date Nov. 1, 2015). SSHRC Knowledge Synthesis Program. Children and youth’s resilience in the context of energy resource production, climate change, and the need to transition to low-carbon goods and services. Value: $25,000 over 1 year.
- Aubertine, P. (Applicant) et al; Ungar, M. (Co-investigator)(Start date July 1, 2015). SSHRC Subventions de développement de partenariat. L'initiation des enfants à la pratique des arts du cirque et ses effets sur la littératie physique, la créativité et la resilience. Value: $239,785 over 2 years.
- Ungar, M. (Applicant). (Start date July 2015). Process and impact evaluation of the Cure Violence gang prevention program. Maskwacis, Alberta. Value: $240,000 over 5 years.
Selected Publications (Most Recent)
Peer-reviewed articles
Khan, A. & Ungar, M. (in press). Resilience to self-harm: A scoping review of protective factors that aid in recovery among marginalized young people. Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention
Giordano, F. & Ungar, M. (in press). Principle-driven program design versus manualized programming in humanitarian settings. Child Abuse & Neglect.
Theron, L., Murphy, K., & Ungar, M. (in press). Multisystemic resilience: Learning from youth in stressed environments. Youth & Society.
Kuru, N. & Ungar, M. (in press). Refugee children’s resilience: A qualitative social ecological study of life in a camp. Journal of Refugee Studies.
Twum-antwi, E., Jefferies, P., Theron, L., & Ungar, M. (in press). Young People’s Perceptions of Identities in a Rural Oil and Gas Town Experiencing Boom-Bust Economic Cycles. Journal of Applied Youth Studies.
Höltege, J., Ungar, M. & Theron, L. (in press). The differential interplay of home routines and comforting beliefs on adolescent mental health in situations of severe parental conflict. Adversity and Resilience Science.
Clark, J., Jefferies, P., Ungar, M. & Foley, S. (in press). Measuring resilience in the context of conflict-related sexual violence: A novel application of the adult resilience measure (ARM). Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Doi.org/10.1177/08862605211028323
Giorano, F., Cipolla, C., Ungar, M. (2021). Building resilience for healthcare professionals working in an Italian Red Zone during the COVID-19 outbreak: a pilot study. Stress and Health.
Makhnach, A.V., Laktionova, A.I., Postylyakova, Yu.V., Gorkovaya, I.A., Miklyaeva, A.V., Sarayeva, N.M., Sukhanov, A.A., Theron, L., Ungar, M. (2021). Comparative analysis of youth resilience from regions with different cultural, social and environmental conditions of life.Psikhologicheskii Zhurnal, 42 (4), 16-27. Doi:10.31857/S020595920016005-1
Jefferies, P., Vanstone, R. & Ungar, M. (2021). The Rugged Resilience Measure: development and preliminary validation of a brief measure of personal resilience.Applied Research in Quality of Life.
Giordano, F., Cipolla, C., & Ungar, M. (2021). Tutor of Resilience: A model for psychosocial care following traumatic experiences. Frontiers in Psychology.
Höltege, J., Jefferies, P., Theron, L., & Ungar, M. (2021). Family resilience in a “resource cursed” community dependent on the oil and gas industry. Family Process.
Murphy, K., Strand, L., Theron, L., & Ungar, M. (2021). "I just gotta have tough skin": Women’s experiences working in the oil and gas industry in Canada. Extractive Industries and Society.
Holtege, J., Theron, L., Cowden, R. G., Govender, K., Maximo, S. I., Carranza, J. S.,… & Ungar, M. (2021). A cross-country network analysis of adolescent resilience. Journal of Adolescent Health, 68, 580e588.
Mahdiani, H. & Ungar, M. (2021). The dark side of resilience. Adversity and Resilience Science. 10.1007/s42844-021-00031-z
Holtege, J., Theron, L., van Rensburg, A., Cowden, R. G., Govender, K., & Ungar, M. (2021). Exploring the interrelations between systems of support in 13- to 18-year-old adolescents: A network analysis of resilience promoting systems in a high and middle-income country. Child Development.
Ungar, M., Linda, T., Murphy, K., & Jefferies, P. (2021). Researching multisystemic resilience: A sample methodology. Frontier Psychology.
Theron, L., Levine, D. & Ungar, M. (2020). African emerging adult resilience: Insights from a sample of township youth. Emerging Adulthood, 9(4), 360-371.
Jefferies, P., Höltge, J. & Ungar, M. (2020). Social anxiety and resilience: associations vary by country and sex.Adversity and Resilience Science.
Mahdiani, H., Höltge, J., Theron, L., & Ungar, M. (2020). Resilience in times of economic boom and bust: A narrative study of a rural population dependent upon the oil and gas industry. Journal of Adult Development.
Jefferies, P., Höltge, J., Thomas, B., & Ungar, M. (2020). Resilience to social anxiety: A systematic review of risk and protective factors. PROSPERO, CRD42020178817, Available from:
Jefferies, P., & Ungar, M. (2020).Social anxiety in young people: A prevalence study in seven countries. PLOS ONE, 15(9): e0239133.
Ungar, M., J. McRuer, X. Liu, L. Theron, D. Blais & Schnurr, M. A. (2020). Social-ecological resilience through a biocultural lens: A participatory methodology to support global targets and local priorities. Ecology and Society, 25(3):8. Doi:
Ross, N., Gilbert, R., Torres, S., Dugas, K., Jefferies, P., McDonald, S., Savage, S., & Ungar, M. (2020). Adverse childhood experiences: Assessing the impact on physical and psychosocial health in adulthood and the mitigating role of resilience. Child Abuse & Neglect, 103. Doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2020.104440
Twum-Antwi, A., Jefferies, P., & Ungar, M. (2020). Promoting child and youth resilience by strengthening home and school environments. Journal of School and Educational Psychology, 8(2), 78-89.
Gatt, J. M., Alexander, R., Emond, A., Foster, K., Hadfield, K., Mason-Jones, A., Reid, S., Theron, L., Ungar, M., Wouldes, T., Qiaobing, W. (2020). Trauma, resilience and mental health in migrant and non-migrant youth: An international study across six countries. Frontiers in Psychiatry. Doii: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00997
Hughes, N., Ungar, M., Fagan, A., Murray, J., Atilola, O., Nichols, K., Garcia, J., & Kinner, S. (2020). Health and developmental determinants of adolescent criminalisation. Lancet Child and Adolescent Health. Doi.org/10.1016/ S2352-464230347-5
Grossman, M., Hadfield, K., Jefferies, P., Gerrand, V., & Ungar, M. (2020). Youth resilience to violent extremism: Development and validation of the BRAVE-14 measure. Terrorism and Political Violence. DOI:
Brisson, J., Pekelny, I., & Ungar, M. (2020). Methodological strategies for evaluating youth gang prevention programs. Evaluation and Program Planning. doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2019.101747
Mahdiani, H. & Ungar, M. (2020). Can biomedical and cognitive enhancement increase psychosocial resilience? Canadian Journal of Psychology. Doi: 10.1037/cap0000217
Katisi, M., Jefferies, P., Dikolobe, O, Moeti, O., Brisson, J., & Ungar, M. (2019). Fostering resilience in orphaned children in Botswana: Preliminary results from the Balekane EARTH program. Child and Youth Care Forum, 48(4), 585-601.
Ungar, M., & Hadfield, K. (2019). The differential impact of environment and resilience on youth outcomes.Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science / Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement, 51(2), 135–146.
Ungar, M. & Theron, L. (2020). Resilience and mental health: How multisystemic processes contribute to positive outcomes. Lancet Psychiatry, 7(5), 441-448. Doi:10.1016/S2215-0366(19)30434-1
Jefferies, P., Ungar, M., Aubertin, P., & Kriellaars, D. (2019). Physical literacy and resilience in children and youth. Frontiers Public Health. Doi:10.3389/fpubh.2019.00346
Lachance, L., Watson, C., Blais, D., Ungar, M., Healey, G., Salaffie, M., Sundar, P., Kelly, L. & Legace, M. (2019). Strengthening child and youth programs: A look at inter-organizational mentoring strategies. Evaluation and Program Planning, 76. Doi:10.1016/j.evalprojplan2019.101679
Ungar, M. (2019). Factors and processes associated with resilience among children and youth (Translated to Japanese by K. Akiyama & K. Nakamura). Studies on Social Work, 45(3), 52-62.
Ungar, M. (2019). Designing resilience research: Using multiple methods to investigate risk exposure, promotive and protective factors and processes, and contextually relevant outcomes. Child Abuse & Neglect. Doi:
Kurtz, S., Pagano, M., Buttram, M., & Ungar, M. (2019). Brief interventions for young adults who use drugs: the moderating effects of resilience and trauma. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 101, 18-24.
Pessoa, A. S. G., Coimbra, R. M., Koller, S. H., & Ungar, M. (2019). Hidden resilience in the life of adolescents with involvement in drug trafficking. Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa, 34, 1-9. Doi: 10.1590/0102.3772e34426
Hadfield, K., Ungar, M., Wu, Q., MA, T., Emond, A., Foster, K, Gatt, J., Mason-Jones, A., Reid, S., Theron, L., & Would, T. (2018). Challenges of developing and conducting an international study of migrant adolescents. International Social Work, 63(2), 232-237.
Hadfield, K., Ungar, M., & Nixon, E. (2018). Rethinking discourses of family and stability. Journal of Family Social Work, 21(2), 172-187.
Langham, E. M., McCalman, J., Redman-McLaren, M., Hunter, E., Wenitong, M., Britton, A., Rutherford, K. S., Saunders, V., Ungar, M., & Bainbridge, R. (2018). Validation and factor analysis of the Child and Youth Resilience Measure for Indigenous Australian boarding school students. Frontiers Public Health, 6, article 299. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2018.00299
Jefferies, P. J., McGarrigle, L. & Ungar, M. (2018). The CYRM-R: A Rasch-validated revision of the Child and Youth Resilience Measure. Journal of Evidence- Informed Social Work, 25, 1-23. Doi: 10.1080/23761407.2018.1548403
Ungar, M. (2018). Systemic resilience: Principles and processes for a science of change in contexts of adversity. Ecology & Society, 23(4). Doi: 10.5751/ES-10385-230434.
Wu, Q., MA, T., Emond, A., Foster, K, Gatt, J, Hadfield, K., Mason-Jones, A., Reid, S., Theron, L., Ungar, M., & Would, T. (2018). Acculturation, resilience and the mental health of migrant youth: A cross-country comparative study. Public Health, 162, 63-70.
Theron, L. & Ungar, M. (2018). Limiting the impacts of child abuse and neglect by understanding which supports matter most: A differential impact approach. Child Abuse & Neglect, 78, 1-3.
Hadfield, K. & Ungar, M. (2018). Do changes to family structure impact child and family outcomes? A systematic review of the instability hypothesis. Journal of Family Theory & Review. DOI: 10.1111/jftr.12243
Ungar, M. (2018). The differential impact of social services on young people’s resilience. Child Abuse & Neglect, 78, 4-13. Doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2017.09.024
Panter-Brick, C., Hadfield, K., Dajani, R., Eggerman, M., Ager, A. & Ungar, M. (2017). The Child and Youth Resilience Measure: Validation for use with Arabic-speaking refugee and war-affected youth. Child Development, 89(5), 1803-1820. Doi: 10.1111/cdev.12868
Allan, R., Eatough, V., & Ungar, M. (2017). “Now I know the terrain”: Phenomenological exploration of CFTs learning an evidence-based practice. Contemporary Family Therapy, 40(2), 164-175. doi:10.1007/s10591-017-9448-4
Liebenberg, L., Ungar, M., & LeBlanc, J. C. (2017). The CYRM-12: A brief measure of resilience. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 104(2), e131-e135. doi:10.17269/cjph.104.3657
Ungar, M., Connelly, G., Liebenberg, L., & Theron, L. (2017). How schools enhance the development of young people’s resilience. Social Indicators Research, 145(2), 615-627.
Ungar, M., Hadfield, K., & Ikeda, J. (2017). Young people’s experiences of therapeutic relationships at high and low levels of risk and resilience. Journal of Social Work Practice, 1-17. doi:10.1080/02650533.2017.1384999
Van Rensburg, A., Theron, L., & Ungar, M. (2017). Using the CYRM-28 with South African young people: A factor structure analysis. Research on Social Work Practice, 1-10. doi:10.1177/1049731517710326
Ungar, M., Hadfield, K., Amarasingam, A., Morgan, S., & Grossman, M. (2017). The association between discrimination and violence among Somali Canadian youth. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. Doi:
Cox, R., Irwin, P., Ungar, M., & Dixon, T. (2017). Children and youth's biopsychosocial health in the contextof energy resource activities. Environmental Research (158), 499-507.
Ungar, M. (2017). Which counts more? The differential impact of the environment or the differential susceptibility of the individual? British Journal of Social Work, 47(5), 1279–1289.
Hadfield, K., Ostrowski, A., & Ungar, M. (2017). What can we expect of the mental health and wellbeing of Syrian refugee children and adolescents in Canada? Canadian Psychology, 58, 194-201.
Ungar, M. & Ikeda, J. (2017). Rules or no rules? Three strategies for engagement with young people in mandated services. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal, 34(3), 259-267.
Collie, R. J., Martin, A. J., Bottrell, D., Armstrong, D., Ungar, M., & Liebenberg, L. (2016). Social support, academic adversity, and academic buoyancy: A person-centered analysis and implications for resilience and academic outcomes. Educational Psychology. Doi: 10.1080/01443410.2015.1127330
Ramos, H. & Ungar, M. (2016). Focusing on Refugee Children and Youth will Make a Difference. Canadian Diversity, 13(2), 17-19.
Martin, A. J., Bottrell, D., Collie, R. J. Armstrong, D., Ungar, M. & Liebenberg, L. (2015). The role of resilience in assisting the educational connectedness of at-risk youth: A study of service users and non-users. International Journal of Educational Research, 74, 1-12.
Liebenberg, L., Theron, L., Sanders, J., Munford, R., van Rensburg, A., Rothmann, S., & Ungar, M. (2015). Bolstering resilience through teacher-student interaction: Lessons for school psychologists. School Psychology International. Doi: 10.1177/0143034315614689
Allan, R., Eatough, V., & Ungar, M. (2015). "I had no idea this shame piece was in me": Couple and family therapists' experience with learning an evidence-based practice. Cogent Psychology. Doi: 10.1080/23311908.2015.1129120
Lal, S., Ungar, M., Malla, A., Leggo, C., & Suto, M. (2015). Impact of mental health services on resilience in youth with first episode psychosis: A qualitative study. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 1-11. Doi:10.1007/s10488-015-0703-4
Allan, R., Eatough, V., & Ungar, M. (2015). “Oh this is what It feels like”: A role for the body in learning an evidence-based practice. Humanities, 4, 861-884.
Ungar, M., Theron, L., Liebenberg, L., Restrepo, A., Tian, G., Sanders, J., Munford, R., & Russell, S. (2015). Patterns of individual coping, engagement with social supports, and use of formal services among a five-country sample of resilient youth. Global Mental Health, 2, e21.
Lachance, L., Bray, J., & Ungar, M. (2015). Brief report: Wisdom 2 Action events as a route for dissemination and network building. InternationalJournal of Child and Youth Resilience, 3(1), 117-124.
Ungar, M. (2015). Patterns of family resilience. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 42(1), 19-31.
Ungar, M., McGrath, P., Black, D., Sketris, I., Whitman, S., & Liebenberg, L. (2015). The Contribution Participatory Action Research Can Make to Knowledge Mobilization in Psychosocial Services for Children and Families. Qualitative Social Work, 599-61.
Ungar, M. (2015). Social ecological complexity and resilience processes. Commentary on ‘A conceptual framework for the neurobiological study of resilience.’ Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 38, 50-51.
Ungar, M., Whitman, S., Hart, A., & Phipps, D. (2015). A simulation exercise to problem solve knowledge mobilization strategies for youth services. Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement, 8(1), 100-117.
Li, H., Liebenberg, L., & Ungar, M. (2015). Understanding Service Provision and Utilization for Vulnerable Youth: Evidence from Multiple Informants. Children and Youth Services Review, 56, 18-25.
Liebenberg, L., Ungar, M., & Ikeda, J. (2015). Neoliberalism and responsibilisation in the discourse of social service workers. British Journal of Social Work, 45(3), 1006-1021.
Sanders, J., Munford, R., Anwar, W., Liebenberg, L., & Ungar, M. (2015). The role of positive youth development practices in building resilience and enhancing wellbeing for at-risk youth. Child Abuse & Neglect. Doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.02.006
Ungar, M. (2015). Practitioner Review: Diagnosing childhood resilience: A systemic approach to the diagnosis of adaptation in adverse social ecologies. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 56(1), 4-17.
Books and special issues
Clark, J. & Ungar, M. (Eds)(2021). Resilience, adaptive peace-building and transitional justice: How societies recover after collective violence. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Ungar M. (Ed.)(2021). Multisystemic resilience: Adaptation and transformation in contexts of change. New York: Oxford University Press.
Ungar, M. (2020). Working with children and youth with complex needs: 20 skills to build resilience (2nd Edition). New York: Routledge.
Ungar, M. (2019). Change Your World: The Science of Resilience and the True Path to Success. Sutherland House: Toronto, ON.
Ungar, M, (2018), What Works: A Manual for Designing Programs that Build Resilience. Halifax, NS: Resilience Research Centre.
Theron, L. & Ungar, M. (Eds.)(2018). Special Issue: Child abuse and resilience: Understanding the differential impact of protective processes. Child Abuse & Neglect, 78(April).
Ungar M. (2015). Working with children and youth with complex needs: 20 skills to build resilience. New York: Routledge.
Theron, L., Liebenberg, L., & Ungar, M. (Eds.)(2015). Youth resilience and culture: Commonalities and complexities. London, UK: Springer.
Ungar, M. (2015). I still love you: Nine things troubled kids need from their parents. Toronto: Dundurn Press.
Book chapters
Theron, L., Haffejee, S., & Ungar, M. (in press). Resilience to structural violence: Learning from African adolescents. In L. Miller-Graff & S. Moeschberger (Eds.), Building cultures of peace: Psychological perspectives on understanding and addressing violence against children. London: Oxford University Press.
Ungar, M., Collin-Vézina, D., & Perry, B. D. (in press). Violence, trauma and resilience. In C. Vine & R. Alaggia (Eds.), Cruel but not unusual, 3rd Ed. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.
Jefferies, P., Vanstone, R., & Ungar, M. (in press). Measuring social-ecological resilience: a decade of research with the Child and Youth Resilience Measure and the Adult Resilience Measure. In S. Prince-Embury (Ed.), Resiliency: Integrating Research and Practice. New York: Springer.
Ungar, M. (in press). Le maillage des ressources propices à la résilience: une méthode socioécologique au service du travail clinique auprès des enfants et des familles.
Theron, L. & Ungar, M. (in press). Resilience in the context of chronic, complex stressors: An emerging adult’s account. In L. Schutte, M. Wissing, & T. Guse (Eds.),Embracing well-being in diverse African contexts: Research perspectives. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Ungar, M. (2021). Mapping the resilience field: A systemic approach. In Clark, J. & Ungar, M. (Eds.), Resilience, adaptive peace-building and transitional justice: How societies recover after collective violence (pp. 23-45). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Ungar, M. (2021). Organizational resilience: Complex, multisystemic processes during periods of stress. T. Wall, C.L. Cooper, & P. Brough (Eds.), The Sage handbook of organizational wellbeing (pp. 139-158). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
Ungar, M. (2021). Modeling multisystemic resilience: Connecting biological, psychological, social, and ecological adaptation in contexts of adversity. In M. Ungar (Ed.), Multisystemic resilience: Adaptation and transformation in contexts of change (pp.6-34). New York: Oxford University Press.
Chia-Kangata, S., Lachance, L., & Ungar, M. (2020). Integrated knowledge mobilization. Promising practices from two Canadian projects. In M. Gonser, K. immer, N. Muhlhausfer, & D. Gluns (Eds.), Wissensmobilisierung und transfer in der fluchtforschung (pp. 211-222). Munster, Germany: Waxmann.
Atallah, D. & Ungar, M. (2020). Indigenous groups facing environmental racism: Human rights, resilience and resistance in Palestinian communities of the West Bank and the Mapuche of Chile. In P. Hagenaars, M. Plavsic, N. Sveaass, U. Wagner & T. Wainwright (Eds.), Human rights education for psychologists (pp. 193-206). London, UK: Routledge.
Collette, A. & Ungar, M. (2020). Resilience of individuals, families, communities and environments: Mutually dependent protective processes and complex systems. In M. Ochs, M. Borcsa, & J. Schweitzer (Eds.). Systemic research in Individual, Couple, and Family Therapy and Counseling (pp. 97-111). European Family Therapy Association Series, Volume 5. Cham, Germany: Springer International.
Ungar, M. (2020). Prologue: Resilience in schools. In C. Cefai & R. Spiteri (Eds.), Resilience in schools: Research and practice (pp. 15-18). Malta: University of Malta Press.
Ungar, M., Hadfield, K., Bush, N., Quesnel-Vallée, A., & Pekelny, I. (2019). Resilience to prenatal stress. In B. O. Taubman (ed), Pathways and barriers to parenthood (pp.127-153). Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Theron L. C., Ungar, M. (2019). Adolescent resilience in the face of relentless adversity: The role of strong, black women. In: Eloff, I. (Ed.), Handbook of quality of life in African societies. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
Ungar, M. (2017). Building social inclusion and community engagement of youth: Pathways to resilience as alternatives to violence. In T. Morris & M. Hadji-Janev (Eds.), Countering terrorism in South Eastern European (pp.103-109). Washington, DC: IOS Press.
Didkowsky, N. & Ungar, M. (2017). A social ecological approach to understanding resilience among rural youth. In U. Kumar (ed.), The Routledge International Handbook of Psychosocial Resilience (pp. 46-58). London: Routledge.
Ungar, M. (2016). Creating a context for resilience in medical settings: The role of collaborative professionals and informal supports. In C. DeMichelis & M. Ferrari (Eds.), Child and adolescent resilience within medical contexts: Integrating research and practice (pp. 211-226). Geneva, Switzerland: Springer.
Ungar, M. (2016). Contextual and cultural aspects of resilience among neglected and abused children. In A.V. Makhnach & L.G. Dikaya (Eds.). Resilience: Individual, professional and social aspects (pp. 377-397.). Moscow: Publishing House of the Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Ungar, M. (2016). A following sea. In L. Choyce (ed.), Nova Scotia love stories (pp.75-80). Lawrencetown, NS: Pottersfield Press.
Liebenberg, L. & Ungar, M. (2015). Using mixed methods in research with young children. In O. N. Saracho (Ed.), Handbook of research methods in early childhood education: Review of research methodologies Volume 1 (pp. 383-404). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
Ungar, M. (2015). Resilience and culture: A social ecological process model of positive adaptation. In L. Theron, L. Liebenberg, & M. Ungar (Eds.), Resilience and Culture(s): Commonalities and complexities (pp.37-50). London, UK: Springer.
Russell, P., Liebenberg, L., & Ungar, M. (2015). White out: The invisibility of White North American culture and resilience processes. In L. Theron, L. Liebenberg, & M. Ungar (Eds.), Resilience and Culture(s): Commonalities and complexities (pp.131-142). London, UK: Springer.
Other publications (not peer reviewed)
Ungar, M. (December 15, 2020). Here’s how today’s young people can live a more resilient and less stressful life. Thrive Global. https://thriveglobal.com/stories/heres-how-todays-young-people-can-live-a-more-resilient-and-less-stressful-life/
Ungar, M. & King. S. (May 19, 2020). Op-ed: Will pandemic babies live with the effects of their mothers’ stress? The Globe and Mail.
Ungar, M. (2020). Forward. In A. Komtheuer, P. Pritchard,, D. B. Maehler, & L. Wilkinson (Eds.), Refugees in Canada and Germany: From research to policies and practice. Köln: GESIS.
Whitman, S., Ungar, M., & Lachance, L. (2018, January 17). Canadians have a duty to protect Abdoul Abdi. Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/shelly-whitman/canadians-have-a-duty-to-protect-abdoul-abdi_a_23333091/
Ramos, H. & Ungar, M. (May 13, 2016). What refugee kids need from us—now and years from now. iPolitics. Available online at:
Ungar, M. (2015). Nurturing resilience: Seven lessons we can learn from our children. Your Workplace, 17(5), 27-29.
Ungar, M. & Amarasingam, A. (2015, May 19). Why do some vulnerable children become radicalized while most others do not? National Post. Available online at