Building resilience has been identified as a key way to improve the wellbeing of children. This article reports on a systematic review of the literature on factors influencing resilience in school age (5–19 years) Australian First Nations populations. It describes how resilience is defined and operationalised, how factors identified map onto the Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) model and whether there are differences in factors depending on age and residential localities.

The systematic review identified 13 articles that met the inclusion criteria, covering 51 different factors influencing resilience across individual, interpersonal and community socio-ecological levels. The 51 factors mapped cohesively onto the SEWB domains. There was inconclusive data to determine if factors were dependent on the participants' age and location. Key limitations of the literature on this topic included the limited number of available studies and the lack of definitions and consistent operationalisation of resilience within the few existing studies.

The article highlights the wide variety of factors influencing resilience in this population and demonstrates the importance of incorporating SEWB domains into wellbeing and resilience-focused programs for First Nations populations in Australian schools.

This information can facilitate evidence-based recommendations for policy, interventions and programs aimed at enhancing resilience and wellbeing among school-age Australian First Nations peoples.