L10: Child - Risk and Protective Factors

Question 1

‘Well-being’ definitions often revolve around what is lacking.

What is the problem with this?

Answer 1

Lack of negative indicators does not equal positive well-being.

There is a lack of knowledge concerning positive well-being that reflects children’s lived experiences and perspectives.

Question 2

What do we mean by ‘wellbeing’ according to the WHO?

it is a construct after all

Answer 2

It is a Multidimensional Construct

It is context dependent (e.g. children in schools in different countries)

It is on a continuum - (not you either have it or you don’t, it goes up and down)

Question 3

What are the 4 multidimensional factors that influence wellbeing according to the WHO?

Answer 3

Social wellbeing

Emotional wellbeing

Physical wellbeing

Environmental wellbeing

Question 4

What is a risk factor?

Answer 4

Any factor which is associated with higher probability of poor developmental outcomes

Question 5

What are protective factors?

Answer 5

Any factor which is associated with protecting against or mitigating risk.

Question 6

Why is it hard to do research around social development?

Answer 6

Experiments can be unethical, hard to do ethical experiments

Can’t do experiments (can’t randomly assign conditions with children)

Problems with causality: Can only do prospective research (or retrospective research) - longitudinal research is resource intensive and can have its own issues

Question 7

Whos theory is this from?

What can it tell us about risk and protective factors and where it stems from?

Answer 7

Bronfenbrenner.

That risk and protective factors can happen at each level

i.e. individual levle, microsystem, mesosystem, macrosystem levels.

Question 8

According to Bronfenbrenners model,

What individual risk factors are there for childhood wellbeing

Answer 8

Temperament

Low birth weight

Genetics

Marginalisation (e.g. race, ethnicity, culture, religion)

Question 9

According to Bronfenbrenners model,

What family risk factors are there for childhood wellbeing

Answer 9

Mental illness

Divorse

Unemployment (also community issue)

Abuse/neglect

Overcrowding in house

Question 10

According to Bronfenbrenners model,

What community risk factors are there for childhood wellbeing

Answer 10

Low SES (socio-economic status)

Violence

Facilities available

Question 11

According to Bronfenbrenners model,

What macro-system risk factors are there for childhood wellbeing

Answer 11

Policies relating to childhood wellbeing

(are governments promoting wellbeing and are they aware of the issues?

Question 12

What is the greatest type of risk in terms of child development?

Answer 12

Cumulative Risk

Many risk factors tend to co-occur, be inter-related or lead to further risk factors

Cumulative risk is worse than the effect of any single risk factor

Question 13

Why are cumulative risks so dangerous?

Answer 13

Because risk it is not simple addition. The effect of risk gets much worse as you get more risk factors

(e.g. 1+1 problem doesn’t equal 2 risk, risk is exponential e.g. 1+1=5)

Question 14

Where in the Bronfenbrenner system do most risk factors stem from?

Answer 14

Mesosystem/exosystem

e.g. Available facilities, unemployment, schooling, neighbourhood etc.

Question 15

Define Resilience

Answer 15

The competence or capacity to adapt and strive under stress

Question 16

Is resilience best described as a dynamic or stable trait?

Answer 16

Dynamic process.

You can be resilient in some circumstances but not others

Question 17

Can a child become resilient if they haven’t faced stress?

Answer 17

No

It is a skill that you build, you develop resilience through experiencing risk factors.

Question 18

What is meant by resilience is domain specific?

Answer 18

People tend to be more resilient in some circumstances over others.

e.g. resilient against bullying but can’t handle academic stress. Or can handle work stress but not family.

Question 19

What are the three main components of resilience?

Answer 19

Risk factors

(having to have experienced some sort of stressors)

Protective factors

(can be seen as a protective factor itself)

Competent functioning

(despite the stress you feel you are still acting at a competent level)

Question 20

Being able to strive in the face of adversity is called…

Answer 20

Resilience

Question 21

Is resilience typically inbuilt (genetic) or built over time?

Answer 21

Built over time

Question 22

Resilience is highly interactive process between which two factors?

Answer 22

Individual characteristics of the person

The environment in which that person has developed.

Question 23

What impact does genes have on resilience?

Answer 23

Shape where the fulcrum for our capacity for resilience is positioned at the start

e.g. Can make us more sensitive to maltreatment or more resilient

Question 24

Is our capacity for resilience set by our genes?

Answer 24

No, experience ‘moves the fulcrum’ for our capacity for resilience depending on positive or negative outcomes.

Making us more or less resilience

Question 25

What is the key to building resilience in children?

Answer 25

Having an adult there to help the child have positive interactions to build resilience.

Question 26

How do the genes impact our response to environmental situations?

What does resilience have to do with this?

Answer 26

They turn up or turn down the expression of chemicals in the brain that govern the responses to stress, anxiety, depressive situations etc.

Having better resilience means that we do not get emotionally overwhelmed when negative situations arise.

Question 27

What are the 3 different kinds of resilience according to Masten et al. (1990, 1994)

Answer 27

1. At risk or high risk children who do not succumb to adversities or show better than expected outcomes. (e.g. low birth weight babies, poverty)

2. Children who develop coping strategies/adapt positively in situations of chronic stress (e.g. whos parents have mental illness or addiction issues)

3. Children who have suffered extreme trauma but still seem to do well (e.g. disasters, sudden loss of relative, refugee experience)

Question 28

How are socio-ecological factors related to resilience?

Answer 28

Capacities and resources for young children can help develop the individual traits needed for resilience.

Question 29

What three sets of factors did Luthar et al. (2000) believe related to the ‘development of resilience’ in children?

Answer 29

1. Attributes of the individual child (e.g. in general, able to handle stress well)

2. Attributes of a child’s family (what sort of attachment relationship present)

3. Characteristics of larger social environment (are people rewarded for doing well in the environment)

Question 30

In the social-ecological model of protective factors

Name the protective factors that are important for building resilience at the child/individual level

Answer 30

Social and Emotional Competence of Children

Question 31

In the social-ecological model of protective factors

Name the protective factors that are important for building resilience at the family/relationships level

Answer 31

Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development

Parent Resilience

Question 32

In the social-ecological model of protective factors

Name the protective factors that are important for building resilience at the​ community/neighborhood level

Answer 32

Social Connections

Concrete Supports in Times of Need

Question 33

In the social-ecological model of protective factors

Name the protective factors that are important for building resilience at the​ society level

Answer 33

Concrete supports in times of need

Question 34

What are the other important protective factors for wellbeing other than resilience individual/child level?

Answer 34

Self-esteem (how you see yourself as a person)

Self-efficacy (do you believe you can do better or give up)

Emotional self-regulation (can you look at yourself and identify the emotions you’re feeling)

Peer groups (are your friends supportive and helping you)

Individual skills (how good are you at getting help when you need)

(resilience at this level)

Question 35

What are the other important protective factors for wellbeing other than resilience at the family level?

Answer 35

Support from family/family functioning

Connection with relatives (positive connection)

Question 36

What are the other important protective factors for wellbeing other than resilience at the community level?

Answer 36

Relationship with teachers (very important protective factor, rated highly by at risk-children)

Membership of organisations (e.g. play a sport, have a community to draw support from)

Question 37

What are the other important protective factors for wellbeing other than resilience at the macro-system level?

Answer 37

Policies relating to childhood wellbeing

(is early childhood a priority for government)

Question 38

Why is important to make sure early childhood goes well and children have good childhood well-being?

Answer 38

A period of critical brain development - chronic and ongoing stress alters brain development.

Interpretation of threat- Children learn to respond to stress in certain ways during this critical period and how they interpret threats and what they see as a threat.

Sensitive preiods: It is a sensitive period for language development and sensory refinement (relevent and irrelevant stimuli)

Question 39

What 3 features should interventions have when trying to increase childhood wellbeing?

Answer 39

1. Interventions that build on strengths where posible (resilience a big focus)
2. Increase protective factors, decrease risk factors
3. Focus on identifying those at risk and intervening before issues occur

Question 40

In interventions, which 3 specific targets should we focus on the build resilience at a psychological level?

Answer 40

Attachment

Self-esteem

Self-efficacy