Adolescent Resilience

To explore what resilience means to adolescents and whether the Resiliency Scale can accurately measure resilience. Researchers have identified that resilience in children and adolescents may lead to psychosocial maladaption and psychopathology in adulthood. Further research is necessary in order to understand what resilience is in adolescence and to identify those at risk for psychosocial problems.

Design:

A triangulated research design was used to explore the concept of resilience in adolescents. This small pilot study, conducted in 1997, had a purposive sample of 51 10th-grade and 11th-grade volunteers from one inner-city, vocational high school in New England.

Methods:

A researcher-developed demographic tool was used to explore the environment of adversities to which students were exposed. Wagnild and Young's Resiliency Scale was used to measure adolescents' perceptions of their resilience. Focus groups, structured and unstructured interviews, and written stories were used to gather phenomenologic data.

Findings:

Despite the traumatic and violent world in which participants lived, the adolescents ranked themselves as "resilient." These adolescents believed that being resilient was to be (a) disconnected from others because they could not trust, (b) isolated because they had inadequate or no support systems, and (c) insulated because the emotional pain was too much to bear.

Conclusions:

This study of resilience in adolescence shows the need for further research; the investigators question whether resilience is really a healthy state, and wonder if similar interventions are necessary for both "resilient" and "vulnerable" adolescents.     

Correlates of Recent Suicide Attempts in a Triethnic Group of Adolescents

Purpose: To describe recent self-reported suicide attempts in a triethnic group of adolescents, to analyze differences in the correlates of attempts by ethnicity and gender, and to explore theoretical correlates of recent suicide attempts using a resilience framework.
Methods: Quantitative data were collected from 10,059 students in 7th, 9th, and 11th grades in Connecticut in 1996. Secondary analysis was done to compare respondents of African American, Hispanic Latino, and Caucasian ethnicities. Data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate procedures. Logistic regression was used to identify the best set of explanatory variables for recent suicide attempts.
Results: The percentage of suicide attempts was significantly higher among Hispanic Latina girls (19.3%) than in any other ethnic-gender group. Significant relationships were found between recent suicide attempts and (a) family history of suicide attempt, (b) friend's history of suicide attempt, (c) history of sexual abuse, (d) history of physical abuse, and (e) environmental stress. The significant set of explanatory variables for recent suicide attempts for the three ethnic groups combined were stress, internalizing and externalizing behaviors, physical and sexual abuse, family and friend attempted suicide, social connectedness, and religious influence.
Conclusions: Findings support use of a resilience model for suicide attempts among three ethnic groups. The finding of a significantly higher percentage of recent suicide attempts by Hispanic girls compared to girls in other ethnic-gender groups warrants further investigation along with development and testing of culturally sensitive preventive interventions.     

Intergenerational family relations and sexual risk behavior in young women

PURPOSE: To more fully understand the associations between family variables and sexual behavior of young women. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Forty-two female clients of an urban youth agency (16 to 25 years of age) were interviewed about intergenerational stories and contact with extended families. Individuation was measured by self-report using the intergenerational individuation subscale of the Personal Authority in the Family System Questionnaire. Self-report questions were used to gain information about the young women's sexual risk behavior. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, independent t-tests, and multiple regression. Family stories were analyzed for themes of resilience or vulnerability. RESULTS: Young women who perceived their connection with previous generations in a resilient light tended to be more individuated and report less risky sexual behaviors. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: These results may give direction in the design of family interventions for reducing sexual risk taking and enhancing positive health behavior. Interventions would include promoting a healthy degree of attachment between adolescents and their families, exploration of family of origin issues, and referral for more intensive services when needed.     

Relationships of Sexual Abuse, Connectedness, and Loneliness to Perceived Well-Being in Homeless Youth

ISSUES AND PURPOSE. To describe respondents' perceptions of connectedness, loneliness, and well-being; and to explore relationships among these variables.
DESIGN AND METHOD. Survey data from 96 participants, focus group interviews with 32 participants, and 10 individual interviews were analyzed.
RESULTS. Sixty percent of the sample reported sexual abuse, which was significantly related to loneliness and inversely related to connectedness and perceived well-being. Subjects felt lonely and disconnected. They perceived their well-being in terms of current health status.
PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS. High rates of sexual abuse, lack of connectedness, and loneliness may help to explain poor perceived well-being in homeless youth.     

Acculturation influences on AAPI adolescent-mother interactions and adolescents' sexual initiation

The purpose of this secondary analysis of data is to examine relationships among Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) adolescents' level of acculturation, maternal influences, and age of sexual initiation. Selected predictive variables are based on the theoretical frameworks and literature review. The results indicate that for these adolescents speaking English at home was positively associated with maternal sexual discussion, mothers' perceptions of connectedness with their adolescents, adolescents' perceived maternal sexual expectations, and later sexual initiation at Wave 1. Adolescents' years of U.S. residency are positively associated with adolescents' level of perceived connectedness with their mothers and later sexual initiation at Wave 2. Adolescents' level of acculturation influence how they interacted with their mothers, perceived their mothers' sexual expectations, and when they decided to initiate sexual intercourse. Interventions to delay AAPI adolescents' sexual debut should consider factors related to AAPI adolescents' and their mothers' levels of acculturation.     

Greek students' knowledge and sources of information regarding sex education

Background:  Human sexuality is a complex part of life and is considered a multidimensional phenomenon. Therefore there is an increased need for adequate and comprehensive sex education, especially for teenagers and young adults.
Aim:  The main aim of the study was to evaluate the level of students' sexual knowledge, as well as to identify their sources of information regarding sexual life and reproduction.
Population and Method:  A cross-sectional study using a designed self-report questionnaire was performed. The study population consisted of 936 students who were attending 10 high schools and four medical schools in Attica. Data were collected after obtaining permission from the Pedagogic Institute of the Greek Ministry of Education.
Findings:  The main sources of students' sexual information about reproduction were friends (29.1%) and parents (24.0%), whereas school was reported by 14.3% of them. The preferred sources of information, according to students' perceptions, were sex education specialists (65.6%), followed by school (39.1%), parents (32.2%) and friends (27.7%).
Conclusions:  The importance of school, peer and parent support upon adolescents' sexual life was revealed by the results of the study. Students' knowledge level on sex topics is not satisfactory and therefore there is a need for sex education specialists and special courses regarding sex education in Greek schools.     

One of the gang: sexual development of adolescents with physical disabilities.

The social implications of disability may affect the sexual development of adolescents with physical disabilities. Using the Peer Similarity Scale to measure the perceived similarity to or difference from nondisabled peers, this study surveyed adolescents with physical disabilities about their perceptions of their sexual development. The data indicate that while, in general, the adolescents see themselves as similar to nondisabled peers, adolescents with certain diagnoses may be more likely to anticipate difficulty in achieving desired adult sexual relationships and future goals.     

Resilience and Locus of Control of Parents Having a Child with Intellectual Disability

Understanding the resilience of parents is gaining importance in the field of intellectual disability as a process of making quality adaptations involved in raising a child with intellectual disability. The present study investigated the variations in resilience with respect to locus of control orientations of 57 parents. They were assessed using Connor Davidson Resilience Scale and Internal-External Scale. Results indicated that parental locus of control orientations significantly influenced their resilience. The internal locus of control acted as a protective mechanism of resilience. The findings have specific relevance in nurturing a community of resilient parents so that they will be active participants in the rehabilitation process of their children.     

A cross-cultural comparison of resilience in adolescents

The purpose of this study was to continue the process of clarifying the concept of resilience in adolescence. At the completion of the first phase of this clarification process in 1997, it became evident that adolescents believed resilience hurt them more than helped them and encompassed such dimensions as self-protection and survival. To gain the broadest understanding of the adolescent's perception of resilience, this study qualitatively explored those perceptions from adolescents in varied socioeconomic and cultural environments. Using a focus-group format, we queried 40 adolescents from New England and Ghana about their perceptions of adversity, overcoming adversities, and resilience. The results indicated that irrespective of age, gender, culture, and socioeconomic status, all the adolescents believed that they were resilient; however, overcoming adversities and being resilient were different depending on the presence or absence of consistent, loving, caring, mentoring adults who helped the adolescent traverse the adversities of life. Those adolescents who were without such support systems (found predominately in the New England sample) showed survival and self-protective forms of resilience, whereas those with such support systems (found predominately in the Ghanaian sample) showed a connected form of resilience. Further research is needed; however, adolescents have given clear messages in two studies indicating that being resilient can hurt them as much as it may help them. When fostering resilience, consideration should be given to what kind of resilience is being fostered.     

Interaction of duration of homelessness and gender on adolescent sexual health indicators.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this analysis was to determine the effects of duration of homelessness and gender on personal and social resources, cognitive-perceptual factors, and sexual health behaviors among homeless youth. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of data collected at baseline from 461 homeless adolescents who participated in a sexual health intervention study was done. METHOD: Data were collected via laptop computers from homeless adolescents (mean age=19.52+1.91 years) in both comparison and intervention groups before the initiation of the intervention. FINDINGS: Significant interaction effects were found for personal and social resources F (4, 426)=2.83, p<.05. Male participants who had been homeless<6 months had significantly higher scores on social connectedness than did male participants who were homeless>1 year. Univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that both boys and girls who had been homeless>1 year had greater AIDS knowledge, F (1, 441)=7.91, p<.01, reported significantly more sexual risk-taking behaviors, F (1, 396)=9.93, p<.05, and engaged in fewer safe-sex behaviors, F (1, 396)=12.05, p<.05, than did those who had been homeless<6 months. Univariate ANOVA indicated that female participants had significantly lower levels of perceived health status, F (1, 429)=12.08, p<.01, significantly greater sexual self-care behaviors, F (1, 396)=16.29, p<.01, and significantly higher levels of assertive communication F (1, 396)=4.03, p<.05 than did male participants, regardless of duration of homelessness. CONCLUSIONS: The duration of homelessness and gender has both direct and interaction effects on cognitive-perceptual and behavioral outcomes associated with sexual health. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Nurses and other healthcare providers working with homeless youth recognize the need to develop brief interventions that address health-risk behaviors. Findings from this study indicate that gender-specific interventions should be provided to youth soon after they become homeless.     

Perceived Psychological Control and Anxiety in Early Adolescents: The Mediating Role of Attributional Style

Research indicates that perceived parental control is a risk factor for anxiety in youth, but mechanisms underlying this connection remain under-examined. This study examined whether hopeless attributional style mediates this relationship, as well as whether this relationship is moderated by gender, in early adolescents (N = 116, ages 10–14). We assessed two hypotheses: (1) that hopeless attributional style would mediate the relationship between perceived maternal psychological control and anxiety symptoms across 1 year, and (2) that this pathway would be stronger for girls than for boys. This study used a three-wave, prospective longitudinal design. Hopelessness was a significant mediator; early adolescents who perceived high rates of maternal psychological control tended to develop a more hopeless attributional style, which in turn predicted increases in anxiety. This effect was not moderated by gender. We discuss implications for treating and preventing anxiety in youth, specifically the need for interventions to address children’s hopeless attributions and perceptions of parents’ behaviors.     

Connectedness of Pregnant Adolescents Who Smoke

PURPOSE: To examine the relationship of the constructs from the family and school environments and protective individual characteristics to health risk behaviors among pregnant adolescents who smoke. METHODS: Inner-city adolescents (N = 53), aged 14-19 years, who were participating in a smoking cessation intervention program, completed self-report demographic, social, and behavioral questionnaires. FINDINGS: Independent variables included family connectedness, school connectedness, and individual characteristics of religiosity, self-esteem, and grade-point average. Three areas of health risk behavior were dependent variables: delinquent behavior, substance, and precocious sexual behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Positive self-esteem served as a protectivefactorfor alcohol use. In contrast to past studies, school connectedness was a risk, not a protective, factor for substance abuse. Neither school nor family connectedness were protective against delinquent or precocious sexual behavior.     

Research brief: sexual communication and knowledge among Mexican parents and their adolescent children.

This study describes the sexual knowledge and communication of Mexican parents and adolescents. Preintervention data were analyzed from 829 high school students (ages 14-17) and one of the parents of each. Differences were found between parents and adolescents in sexual knowledge (M = 16.16 vs. M = 14.92; t = 7.20, p < .001); specifically, parents had higher knowledge related to sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, and condom use. Parents perceived more general communication (t [787] = 6.33, p < .001), and less discomfort talking about sex (t [785] = 4.69, p < .001) than adolescents. Parents with higher education levels scored higher in HIV knowledge and general communication. Fathers had higher total sexual knowledge, whereas mothers perceived higher sexual communication than fathers. There were no differences in knowledge and communication by parental socioeconomic level. Results suggest health care providers need to assist parents in developing specific knowledge and skills to support their adolescents' sexual decision-making.     

Suicide ideation among later elementary school-aged youth

Suicide is extremely rare among persons under age 15 years old. Nationwide, it has been reported that 18% of students in grade 6 had thoughts of killing themselves. The Social Disintegration Model (SDM) summarizes intra-personal, interpersonal, peer network, physical and heath risk behaviour characteristics that may influence suicide ideation. As part of a larger study to test a family strengthening programme, 179 later elementary school children from two cities responded to 20 items about their participation in health risk behaviour. Sixteen youth indicated they had thought of killing themselves. Based on the SDM, these 16 youth were compared with the larger sample on measures of ways of coping; family communication, functioning and caring; school connectedness, pubertal development; and alcohol use and weapon carrying. Youth who responded positively to the 'thought of killing self' screening question, felt less connected to their school, used more internalizing behaviours and reported less cohesion, open communication, supervision and family caring than youth who answered no. Youth who thought of killing themselves may benefit from additional school support to feel more comfortable and connected at school. Community resources may help parents modify child-rearing behaviours. Building communication among parents and youth may prevent suicidal behaviour among young adolescents.