Resilience

Question 1

resilience in children exposed to family violence - Martinez-Torteya et al. (2008)

Answer 1

N = 190 mothers and their children

Assessments took place when children were 2, 3 and 4 yo

Examined following risk factors:
o Maternal depression
o Stressful life events
o Race and low income

Examined the following protective factors
o Positive parenting
o Child temperament
o Child cognitive ability

Question 2

findings - Martinez-Torteya et al. (2008)

Answer 2

Children with scores above the cut off on the Children’s Behaviour Checklist were classified as negatively adapted

Children exposed to family violence were almost 4 times more likely to develop emotional and behavioural problems compared to children who were not exposed to family violence

54% of children exposed to family violence were resilient

Maternal mental health, child’s easy temperament, and positive parenting acted as protective factors

Question 3

the role of maternal insightfulness in children exposed to violence - Gray et al. (2015)

Answer 3

N = 64 preschool children exposed to violence

Mothers completed questionnaires on their children’s emotional and behavioural problems (CBCL)

Children who were exposed to violence and their mothers scored low on insightfulness (defined as insight about the child’s motives, openness to new information) had the highest level of emotional and behavioural problems compared to all other children

Insightfulness may not be an important factor when there is no family violence

Question 4

resilience

Answer 4

Exposure to risk / adversity (e.g. negative events) and development of positive outcomes (absence of psychopathology? Need to be confident and show competence)

Resilience is a process, not a trait

Ego resilience - psychologically strong individuals and show flexibility in behaviour

Can be resilient at only certain time points

Question 5

History of resilience (Masten)

Answer 5

Uncovered key characteristics and environments

Focussed on attachment, self-regulation and phychobiological reactivity

Encouraged primary prevention

Focussed on multi-level analysis

Question 6

adversity or risk factors - Luthar and Cicchetti (2000)

Answer 6

Adversity or risk factors refer to negative life circumstances that are associated with poor child outcomes.

Examples of risk factors:

• Parent psychopathology
• Family context
• Peers
• School
• Community
• Environment.
• lack of school resources - Eggerman et al. (2010)
• exposure to rocket attacks - Wolmer et al. (2015)

Question 7

definition of positive outcomes

Answer 7

Absence of psychopathology?

Or more positive outcomes? (e.g., social skills, academic competence)

Both?

Question 8

key concepts in resilience research - vulnerability factors - Morrison-Guttman and Flouri (2011)

Answer 8

Vulnerability factors - Personal attributes that can lead to maladjustment under stress or adversity.

Child difficult temperament is a vulnerability factor.

They worsen the negative effects of the stressful condition.

Question 9

key concepts in resilience research - protective factors

Answer 9

Protective factors - Personal attributes or situations that decrease vulnerability for the development of maladjustment.

Positive factors change the effects of risks in a positive way

Question 10

protective factors

Answer 10

positive attitude

physical exercise

social support and mentorship

Question 11

positive attitude - Haglund et al. (2007)

Answer 11

Optimism

Humour

Positive emotions

Cognitive flexibility

Finding meaning

Decreased autonomic activity.

Question 12

physical exercise

Answer 12

Boosts mood and self-esteem

Improves psychological hardiness

Enhances neurogenesis

Improves cognition

Boosts immune system

Regulates emotions.

Question 13

social support and mentorship

Answer 13

Nurture

Close relationships

Mentors as role models

Teaching resiliency

Imitation

Oxytocin.

Question 14

child characteristics as protective factors

Answer 14

Intellectual ability

Emotion regulation

Temperament

Locus of control

Appraisals and coping skills.

Question 15

key issues about protective factors

Answer 15

Do protective factors work the same across contexts?

“Protective factors can be specific to the risk factor and the outcome in question”

Question 16

multidimensional nature of resilience - Luthar et al. (2000)

Answer 16

Some children exposed to severe risk show positive outcomes in one domain but have problems in other domains.

Is it realistic to expect positive outcomes across multiple domains?

Question 17

multifinality

Answer 17

If several domains of functioning are included…Are they examined independently?

Which are the most “critical” domains?

How important is the “severity” of risk or adversity?

Question 18

risk assessment - Morrison-Guttman and Flouri (2011)

Answer 18

“Statistical versus actual risk”
- What are the life circumstances of different individuals?

“Subjective versus objective assessments of risk”
- What’s the individual’s perception of the adverse event?

“Risk factors don’t occur in isolation” but risk factors tend to co-exist

A single risk factor may not necessarily cause dramatic difficulties in a child’s life

Research focusses mainly on the accumulation of risk factors.

Question 19

cumulative risk theory

Answer 19

Each risk factor falls with two categories

• Presence of risk (1)
• Absence of risk (0)

“Cumulative risk is the summation of risk factors rather than a single individual risk factor that leads to maladjustment because it taxes the individuals capacity to adaptation”

Question 20

specificity of risk factors

Answer 20

“A weaknesses of the cumulative risk theory is that it assumes that each factor has the same weight on children”

But each risk factor may have a different impact.

Question 21

stability of resilience - Luthar et al. (2000)

Answer 21

Individuals exhibit fluctuations within domains of functioning

Resiliency is a dynamic developmental construct and longitudinal studies are key

Large samples are also required.

Question 22

future directions for studying resilience

Answer 22

Dynamic

Interactive

Multiple levels (psychological, biological, social)

Across time (at different time points)

Simultaneous assessments of several domains.

There is a need for more focus on the “mechanisms by which protection might be conferred”

Question 23

interventions

Answer 23

Risk-focused
- Aim at reducing exposure to risk or adversity
Asset-focused programmes
- Aim at improving the quality and quantity of assets
Process-oriented programmes
- Aim at improving systems of adaptation in the lives of children.

Question 24

resilience training for HD - Burton et al. (2009)

Answer 24

see notes

Question 25

resilience in community - Chandra et al. (2013)

Answer 25

see notes

Question 26

interventions to enhance resilience in adults - Southwick et al. (2011)

Answer 26

“Hardiness training

Stress inoculation training

Social support interventions

Learned optimism interventions

Well-being therapy”

Question 27

how to overcome a crisis

Answer 27

“Face facts

Choose life

Reach out

Get moving

Give back”