The Rochester Child Resilience Project: Overview and summary of first year findings

Factors Associated with the Posttraumatic Growth of Psychiatrists Who Have Experienced Patient Suicide: A Pilot Study

Previous studies have suggested that psychiatrists undergo posttraumatic growth after experiencing patient suicide. However, research remains scant on the posttraumatic growth of psychiatrists who have experienced patient suicide. Thus, this study examined the factors associated with the posttraumatic growth of psychiatrists who have experienced patient suicide. The sample comprised 39 psychiatrists, and data were collected through an online self-report survey. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, frequency analysis, Pearson's correlation analysis, and Mann-Whitney U tests. Study results demonstrate that being older, having more clinical experience, having more experience with patient suicide, and receiving supportive supervision were associated with higher levels of posttraumatic growth among psychiatrists who have experienced patient suicide. However, higher levels of posttraumatic stress were associated with lower levels of posttraumatic growth. In conclusion, there is a need to increase support for psychiatrists who have experienced patient suicide to help them overcome occupational trauma and enhance posttraumatic growth. This study suggests several policy and practical implications for enhancing the posttraumatic growth of psychiatrists.

Developing a Scale Using Item Response Theory of the Self-Resilience in Taekwondo Players

The purpose of this study was to identify the ego-resiliency of Taekwondo athletes and to develop a scale measuring such skills. We collected preliminary data using an open-ended online survey targeting Taekwondo athletes from nine countries (South Korea, China, Malaysia, United States, Spain, France, Brazil, United Kingdom, and Taiwan) who participated in international competitions between 2019 and 2020. We extracted participants' ego-resiliency from 48 survey responses, guided by expert meetings and a thorough literature review. We verified our Taekwondo ego-resiliency scale's construct validity using 741 survey responses. We utilized V coefficients, parallel analysis, an exploratory structural equation model, maximum likelihood, confirmatory factor analysis, and multi-group confirmatory factor analysis for data analysis. We identified four core ego-resiliency types: "empathy," "coach support," "care," and "parent support/effort". Our final measure, which demonstrated evidence of reliability and validity, comprises 18 items spanning 4 factors, with each item rated on a 3-point Likert scale.

Burnout, stress and resilience of an Australian regional hospital during COVID-19: a longitudinal study

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has placed huge strain on hospital staff around the world. The aim of the current longitudinal study was to investigate the resilience, stress and burnout of hospital staff located at a large, regional hospital in Victoria, Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic over time via cross-sectional surveys. The surveys were disseminated six times from August 2020 to March 2021, with the first three data collection points distributed during a state-wide lockdown. A total of 558 responses from various professional roles within the hospital over the survey period were included in the sample. Analysis of variance indicated significant main effects for the psychological variables across time, age, and workload. Hospital staff reported an increase in burnout levels throughout the eight-months. Significant negative relationships were observed between resilience and burnout, and between resilience and stress. A backward regression highlighted the contribution of resilience, stress, age, and nursing roles on burnout. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that resilience contributed to the stress-burnout relationship. This study strengthens the evidence between resilience and burnout among healthcare workers and hospital staff and highlights the need for psychological wellbeing programs to be implemented for hospital staff impacted by a prolonged worldwide pandemic.

Tracing the Growth, Gaps, and Characteristics in Positive Education Science: A Long-Term, Large-Scale Review of the Field

This large-scale quantitative review used publication data to track the presence of positive education terms over a 100+ year period across 35 psychology journals and education journals utilizing two analytical methods. First, computer-generated linguistic word count analysis identified that positive education terms have shown small but steady growth in psychology and education research for more than a century. From 1904 to 2016, positive education terms have risen consistently, with increases in 1952, 1982, 2010, and 2014 to over 4, 5, 6, and 7 percent, respectively. Four new terms were present in the top 20 most prevalent terms following the official launch of positive education in 2009: well-being, satisfaction, motivat*, and engag* (note: terms ending with an asterisk are word stems). Three terms also increased in rank order prevalence from 2009 onwards: emotion*; health; and goal*. The second analytical method involved in-depth human coding of a subset of positive education abstracts (n=2,805) by a team of five researchers to identify trends pertaining to how positive education research has been conducted in terms of paradigms, designs, methods, tools, samples, and settings from 1950 to 2016. College students and students in secondary school make up the most common samples, with little research in the early childhood years. Quantitative, cross-sectional studies using self-report surveys have been the most common design and method used over the past six decades, suggesting room for growth in qualitative methods and the need for greater longitudinal and intervention designs. The human coding was also used to classify positive education variables into broader categories of research. Nine categories were identified: positive functioning; well-being; ill-being; strengths; agency; connection and belonging; identity and personality; school climate and outcomes; and demographics. By tracking positive education science over time, the current paper allows researchers to take stock of the field, identify gaps, outline areas of growth, and pursue fruitful topics for future research.

Some High-risk Adolescents do not Develop Conduct Problems: A Study of Protective Factors

Research on the origins of conduct problems such as disruptive, aggressive, and delinquent behaviour has focused mainly on deficits and risk factors. Protective factors have received more attention only recently in the context of resilience research. In the present study cross-sectional and longitudinal (2-year interval) comparisons were made of two groups of 14 to 17-year-olds from residential homes. Both groups have grown up under accumulated stressful life events and circumstances (multiproblem milieu). One group (N=66) has so far shown no serious behavioral and emotional problems (Resilients); the other (N= 80) has developed manifest disorders, particularly in the externalising syndrome. Potential protective factors (intelligence, temperament, self-related cognitions, coping styles, experience with reference persons, social support, social climate, etc.) were recorded with tests, questionnaires, and interviews. Protective factors functioned additively, subtypes could not be differentiated. Findings from the longitudinal survey showed somewhat lower effects in personal resources and were only partially consistent with the cross-sectional comparison. Possible reasons for these discrepancies are discussed, and it is suggested that the construct of resiliency in multi-problem milieus requires a dynamic, development and context-related interpretation.

Verification of relationship model between Korean new elderly class's recovery resilience and productive aging

The purpose of this study is to verification of relationship model between Korean new elderly class’s recovery resilience and productive aging. As of 2013, this study sampled preliminary elderly people in Gyeonggi-do and other provinces nationwide. Data from a total of effective 484 subjects was analyzed. The collected data was processed using the IBM SPSS 20.0 and AMOS 20.0, and underwent descriptive statistical analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structure model verification. The path coefficient associated with model fitness was examined. The standardization path coefficient between recovery resilience and productive aging is β=0.975 (t=14.790), revealing a statistically significant positive effect. Thus, it was found that the proposed basic model on the direct path of recovery resilience and productive aging was fit for the model.

Validity of the School-age Assessment of Attachment for moderate-risk, rural early adolescents

INTRODUCTION

This study provides evidence of validity of the School-age Assessment of Attachment (SAA) through longitudinal comparison with the Preschool Assessment of Attachment (PAA) and with concurrent attachment assessments and measures of risk and parenting. Determining which assessment had the greatest validity with this moderate-risk sample would be of benefit to those working with troubled young people and their families.

HYPOTHESES

Children's SAA classifications were expected to correspond to their PAA, a behavioral attachment assessment, parenting, and risk. An attachment questionnaire was predicted to not accurately indicate children's risk status.

DESIGN

The design was an 8-year longitudinal follow-up of rural Appalachian American preschoolers.

METHOD

The participants were 21 children and their caregivers. The PAA was completed at age 4. The SAA, a self-report questionnaire, and a parent-child conflict resolution task were completed at age 12. Parents completed assessments of depression, trauma, stress, and perceptions of helplessness.

RESULTS

The PAA was related to the SAA and the dyadic behavioral task. The SAA was consistently associated with measures of parenting and family risk. The attachment questionnaire performed poorly for children with higher risk status, suggesting more (not less) sensitive and responsive parenting.

Development and piloting of a mother and child intervention to promote resilience in young children of HIV-infected mothers in South Africa

This paper describes the process of developing a parallel intervention for HIV-positive mothers and their young children (6-10 years) with a view to strengthening the relationship between them. Strong mother-child relationships can contribute to enhanced psychological resilience in children. The intervention was developed through action research, involving a situation analysis based on focus group discussions; intervention planning, piloting the intervention and a formative evaluation of the intervention. Participants supplied feedback regarding the value of the intervention in mother-child relationships. The findings obtained from the formative evaluation were used to refine the intervention. Two parallel programmes for mothers and children (15 sessions each) were followed by 10 joint sessions. The intervention for mothers focused on maternal mental health and the strengthening of their capacity to protect and care for their young children. The intervention for children addressed the development of their self-esteem, interpersonal relationships and survival skills. The formative evaluation provided evidence of good participation, support and group cohesion. Qualitative feedback indicated that the activities stimulated mother-child interaction. A similar intervention can easily be applied elsewhere using the detailed manual. The insights gained and lessons learnt related to mother and child interaction within an HIV-context that emerged from this research, can be valuable in other settings, both in Sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere.

Direct protective and buffering protective factors in the development of youth violence

This article discusses conceptual issues and reviews knowledge about direct and buffering protective factors in the development of youth violence. Direct protective factors predict a low probability of violence, whereas buffering protective factors predict a low probability of violence in the presence of risk (and often interact with risk factors). Individual, family, school, peer, and neighborhood factors are reviewed. Heterogeneity of variables, measurement, contexts, study design, sample, and other characteristics limit generalizations. However, there were various evidence-based candidates for having a direct protective or buffering protective effect such as above-average intelligence, low impulsivity/easy temperament, enhanced anxiety, prosocial attitudes, high heart rate, close relationship to at least one parent, intensive parental supervision, medium SES of the family, sound academic achievement, strong school bonding, a positive school/class climate, nondeviant peers, and living in a nondeprived and nonviolent neighborhood. The probability of violence decreases as the number of protective factors increases (a dose-response relationship). Implications for future research and practice concern adequate research designs to detect nonlinear relationships; conceptually and methodologically homogeneous studies; differentiated analyses with regard to age, gender, and other characteristics; and greater integration of longitudinal correlational research with (quasi-)experimental intervention studies.

Exposure to political conflict and violence and posttraumatic stress in Middle East youth: protective factors

We examine the role of family- and individual-level protective factors in the relation between exposure to ethnic-political conflict and violence and posttraumatic stress among Israeli and Palestinian youth. Specifically, we examine whether parental mental health (lack of depression), positive parenting, children's self-esteem, and academic achievement moderate the relation between exposure to ethnic-political conflict/violence and subsequent posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms. We collected three waves of data from 901 Israeli and 600 Palestinian youths (three age cohorts: 8, 11, and 14 years old; approximately half of each gender) and their parents at 1-year intervals. Greater cumulative exposure to ethnic-political conflict/violence across the first 2 waves of the study predicted higher subsequent PTS symptoms even when we controlled for the child's initial level of PTS symptoms. This relation was significantly moderated by a youth's self-esteem and by the positive parenting received by the youth. In particular, the longitudinal relation between exposure to violence and subsequent PTS symptoms was significant for low self-esteem youth and for youth receiving little positive parenting but was non-significant for children with high levels of these protective resources. Our findings show that youth most vulnerable to PTS symptoms as a result of exposure to ethnic-political violence are those with lower levels of self-esteem and who experience low levels of positive parenting. Interventions for war-exposed youth should test whether boosting self-esteem and positive parenting might reduce subsequent levels of PTS symptoms.

Emotional competence and behavior problems: Differences across Preschool Assessment of Attachment classifications

This study examined attachment in association with preschoolers' emotional functioning among 54 predominantly low-income families living in Appalachia. Attachment was assessed at age 4 years using the Strange Situation (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978) and classified with the PAA (Crittenden, 2004). Emotional competence was measured via an interview about children's memories for six emotions, rated in terms of both emotion understanding and regulation. Parent-, teacher-, and self-reports of children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms were also completed. Questionnaires and interviews assessed socioeconomic risk and parental symptoms and negative childhood experiences. Children's PAA strategies were significantly associated with risks, emotion regulation and understanding, and symptoms. Children using highly coercive strategies showed the greatest difficulties. Emotion regulation and understanding also were associated with parent- and teacher-report of symptoms. These findings suggest that intervention efforts with at-risk youngsters should target not only attachment security, but also emotional competence skills.

Examining the impact of parental risk on family functioning among homeless and housed families

The present study used data from 132 families that were homeless and a comparison group of 434 housed families in order to compare family functioning across the two groups. Family functioning was assessed by family support workers when the families sought help from one of seven family service agencies in Washington, DC. Multiple regression models showed that there were few differences between homeless and housed families; a difference that did emerge showed that homeless families fared better than housed families in terms of children's developmental stimulation. However, when considering the compounding effects of additional family risk factors, adverse effects of homelessness were observed. As compared with housed families, homeless families with a history of parental mental illness had limited access to support networks and poorer interactions with their children. Poor financial and living conditions were observed among homeless families with histories of substance use. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Problems defining resiliency: Illustrations from the study of maltreated children

In this article, operational definitions of resiliency used in previous studies are reviewed. Data from a sample of 56 maltreated school-age children are then explored to highlight how variations in the source, type, and number of assessments obtained affect the rates of children classified as resilient. Assessments were obtained in three domains: academic achievement, social competence, and clinical symptomatology. Two sources of information were used to assess each domain, and three different data integration procedures were used to calculate rates of resiliency in the maltreated cohort. It is concluded that the most appropriate definition of resiliency to be used in future investigations depends on the aims of the study. If the goal of the study is to assess overall functioning, there is an advantage to using more broad, multidimensional assessments. If, in contrast, the goal of the study is to determine why some high-risk children develop particular types of problems, to identify underlying etiological processes associated with different outcomes, there is an advantage to using narrower definitions.

Resilience and developmental psychopathology

Humans vary to a great extent in their ability to adapt to adverse experiences. Resilience reflects the positive end of this spectrum of adaptation and maladaptation in response to risk exposure. Some individuals, despite being faced with the most pernicious of adversities, manage to avoid psychologic collapse and to maintain healthy adjustment. For decades, researchers and clinicians have searched for the correlates and causes of resilience, and several comprehensive reviews of these efforts are available. This article provides an overview of resilience research and selectively summarizes recent advances in the field, with a particular focus on a developmental psychopathology perspective. This article highlights some of the challenges to resilience research and uses the example of maltreatment to illustrate some of these issues.

Family Stability as a Protective Factor Against Psychopathology for Urban Children Receiving Psychological Services

Family stability, defined as the consistency of family activities and routines, was examined in a sample of urban families (n = 70) with children (ages 7 to 16) receiving psychological services. Parent-reported family stability was associated with lower parent-reported children's internalizing behavior problems. Child-reported family stability significantly attenuated the influence of parental depressive symptoms on parent-reported children's internalizing, externalizing, and total behavior problems, while controlling for the effect of children's age. Parental depressive symptoms were associated with problems in child adjustment only at the low level of family stability.

Improving Children?s Coping With Everyday Stress: Transporting Treatment Interventions to the School Setting

Children are continuously confronted with everyday stressors in their daily routine, and their ability to deal with these stressors has been found to be significantly related to their psychological adjustment. In fact, numerous studies have indicated that having a repertoire of coping skills at a young age can be a "buffer" or moderator" of the effects of negative life stress on the development of psychological maladjustment. Because of the importance of developing adequate skills to navigate life's daily challenges, a number of school-based interventions have been designed with the goal of teaching children specific "problem-focused" skills that are presumed to enhance coping, yet fewer programs have taught children "emotion focused" skills such as cognitive restructuring or emotional regulation to deal with more uncontrollable stressors. This paper begins with a review of the theoretical and empirical literature on children's coping with everyday stress and then provides a description of several existing coping skills training programs for children, highlighting those that are school-based interventions. A description is provided of a brief, school based intervention that was recently implemented to determine the differential effects of teaching young children "problem-focused" skills and teaching "emotion-focused" skills on children's subsequent use of specific coping strategies. The study and its outcomes are reviewed. The final section of the paper focuses on issues related to conducting intervention research in the schools, and specific suggestions for researchers are delineated for every stage in the process of school based research, to best assure that the research program can be implemented in the schools efficiently and effectively.

Genetic and Environmental Processes in Young Children's Resilience and Vulnerability to Socioeconomic Deprivation

Some children exposed to socioeconomic (SES) deprivation are resilient and function better than expected, given the level of deprivation they have experienced. The present study tested genetic and environmental contributions to young children's resilience and vulnerability to SES deprivation. Children's resilience was assessed by the difference between their actual score and the score predicted by their level of SES deprivation in the E-Risk Study, an epidemiological cohort of 1,116 five-year-old twin pairs. Consistent with previous research, results showed that maternal warmth, stimulating activities, and children's outgoing temperament appeared to promote positive adjustment in children exposed to SES deprivation. Findings add new information by demonstrating that resilience is partly heritable and that protective processes operate through both genetic and environmental effects.

Using psychological assessment and therapeutic strategies to enhance well-being

OBJECTIVE

To provide an overview of the psychological assessment; results from studies examining psychological issues among individuals with craniofacial anomalies (CFA) and other chronic conditions; resilience; and therapeutic strategies to enhance psychological well-being.

CONCLUSIONS

The literature on chronic conditions and findings from studies with people having CFA and their families demonstrate a range of effective adaptation patterns and strategies to enhance issues having an impact on quality of life.

Ordinary magic. Resilience processes in development

The study of resilience in development has overturned many negative assumptions and deficit-focused models about children growing up under the threat of disadvantage and adversity. The most surprising conclusion emerging from studies of these children is the ordinariness of resilience. An examination of converging findings from variable-focused and person-focused investigations of these phenomena suggests that resilience is common and that it usually arises from the normative functions of human adaptational systems, with the greatest threats to human development being those that compromise these protective systems. The conclusion that resilience is made of ordinary rather than extraordinary processes offers a more positive outlook on human development and adaptation, as well as direction for policy and practice aimed at enhancing the development of children at risk for problems and psychopathology.

Risk and resiliency factors for violence

Research on human resiliency in the face of adversity has gained widespread currency in the study of the developmental outcomes for children exposed to multiple risk factors. This article reviews several of these studies from a multilevel perspective, with a view to documenting their contributions and limitations and what needs to be done in the future.

Resilience among youth growing up in substance-abusing families

This article presents the Challenge Model, a new clinical paradigm for evaluating the children of alcoholics and other substance-abusing parents. Unlike traditional risk paradigms, the Challenge Model incorporates both the resilience and the vulnerabilities that can result from struggling with hardship early in life. A developmental vocabulary of strengths is provided for pediatricians to use in research, clinical thinking, and treatment and prevention efforts with COAs.

The enhancement of psychological wellness: challenges and opportunities

Developed the concept of psychological wellness and made the case that proportionally more resources should be directed to the pursuit of this goal. Five pathways to wellness are considered, implicating aspects of individual development and the impact of contexts, settings, and policies. The five pathways are: forming wholesome early attachments; acquiring age- and ability-appropriate competencies; engineering settings that promote adaptive outcomes; fostering empowerment; and acquiring skills needed to cope effectively with life stressors. Although these noncompeting pathways have differential salience at different ages and for different groups and life conditions, each is an essential element in any comprehensive social plan to advance wellness. Examples of effective programs are cited in all five areas, including recent comprehensive, long-term programs embodying multiple pathways to wellness.

The Emanuel Miller Memorial Lecture 1992. The theory and practice of resilience

The aim of this paper is to identify a theoretical framework which may provide a meaningful context for developing practical interventions to build upon the concept of resilience. In so doing I shall briefly consider the importance of the concept, what is known about it, and then focus on a specific facet of the problem: intergenerational transmission of maladaptive relationship patterns and resilience to such a threat.

Interviews with children who experienced major life stress: family and child attributes that predict resilient outcomes

Demographically comparable groups of children exposed to major life-stress, with stress resilient (SR) and stress affected (SA) outcomes at ages 10 to 12, were interviewed to assess perceptions of their caregiving environments, peer relationships, and themselves. SR children compared with SA children reported more: (1) positive relationships with primary caregivers, (2) stable family environments, (3) inductive and consistent family discipline practices, and (4) positive expectations for their futures. SR girls viewed their mothers as more nurturing than did SA girls. Perceptions of fathers, quality of peer relationships, and global self-concept did not differentiate the groups. A discriminant function analysis identified four variables that correctly classified 74% of the subjects as SR or SA. Findings support the view that caregiver-child relationships play a key role in moderating children's developmental outcomes under conditions of high stress.