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Risk and resilience in young adolescents
F K Grossman1, J Beinashowitz, L Anderson
1Department of Psychology, Boston University, 02215, Boston, MA.
Journal of Youth and Adolescence
|November 23, 2013
Summary
Protective factors like family cohesion and communication significantly predict adolescent adaptation, independent of risks. These factors are context-specific, not universally applicable, highlighting the need for tailored youth support strategies.
Area of Science:
- Adolescent Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Risk and Protective Factors Research
Background:
- Adolescent adaptation is influenced by various risk and protective factors.
- Understanding context-specific influences is crucial for effective intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the role of specific protective factors in adolescent adaptation.
- To investigate the relationship between protective factors, risk, and gender in a specific youth population.
Main Methods:
- Exploratory study involving 179 adolescents from a northeastern school district.
- Examined protective factors: family cohesion, locus of control, parental communication, and non-parent adult relationships.
- Analyzed data for protective factor efficacy, context specificity, and gender differences.
Main Results:
- Protective factors independently predicted adolescent adaptation.
- No universally applicable protective factors were identified; context specificity was key.
- Significant sex differences were observed, but no interactions between protective factors and risk were found for either gender.
Conclusions:
- Researchers should focus on identifying specific protective factors relevant to particular risks and contexts.
- Interventions should be tailored to the unique environmental and individual circumstances of adolescents.
- Gender plays a role in the context of protective factors, necessitating gender-sensitive approaches.
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