Resilience in Children at High Risk for Psychological Disorder

This longitudinal study examined factors related to healthyadjustment in young children who had experienced conditionsand stresses known to carry a substantial risk of adverse outcome.Psychological adjustment of 109 children at age 6 to 7 yearswas examined for its relationship to infancy risk status, determinedat age 1 month by means of a multifactor screen assessing perinatalstress, psychological problems and stresses in the family, maternalattitudes toward self and parenthood, and maternal perceptionsof infant temperament. Several variables believed to mediateoutcome for high-risk children were studied, including subsequentstressful life events, social support available to child andmother, and child's locus of control orientation. Interactionsbetween predictor variables showed that life events magnifysynergistically the adverse effects of infancy risk factors,and social support and internal control orientation potentlybuffer the effects of risk and stress. Considered jointly inconjunction with their interactions, the predictor variableswere strongly predictive of outcome, explaining 56% of the varianceobserved in behavior problems and 64% of the variance in schoolproblems.