Resiliency, a Path to Success for Abused Youth
At-Risk Youth Can Flourish with Environmental Protective Factors
Jan 14, 2009
According to Facts About America's Youth, compiled by Helping America's Youth (led by First Lady Laura Bush) young Americans in many communities engage in risky behaviors. The behaviors are defined as those that contribute to disease and early death among youth, and include illegal drug and tobacco use, violence and early sexual activity.
Compiled Statistics Show:
- Boys begin to fall behind girls in reading and writing in elementary school and show behavior problems earlier in life. Poor academic achievement is related to higher dropout and delinquency rates.
- Statistics show boys at greater risk for developing learning disabilities, illiteracy, dropping out of school, substance abuse, violence, arrest, and early death from violence. Older boys show much higher rates of substance abuse and gang involvement.
- Difficulty learning to read is associated with school failure and aggression.
- In 2000, an estimated 9.5 million cases of sexually transmitted infections (STI) occurred in teens and young adults ages 15-24.
- Injury and violence are the leading cause of death for 5-19 year olds. Nearly one quarter of all young drivers in fatal car accidents were driving under the influence.
Resiliency Offers Hope to Troubled TeensDespite these grim statistics it can be said that we live in fortunate times. This optimism comes from research that demonstrates that we have learned something about how to prevent youth from becoming negative statistics. We have learned to help youth develop what these researchers have labled as "resiliency".
Reselience has been defined as the capacity of all individuals to transform and change, no matter what the risks. It is an innate "self-righting" mechanism. Resilience is the reason long term studies have have found that youth in such high risk environments as poverty-stricken or war-torn communities, drug dependent and abusive families, and dysfunctional families with mental illness succeed at the rate of at least 50%. These youth grow up to be not only successful by social indicators but competent, confident, and caring people.
According to Helping America's Youth, a multitude of resiliency studies (over 100) have shown that there are four main individual-level protective factors. Social skills (especially empathy), problem solving skills, a sense of control or autonomy, and a sense of purpose are factors specific to the individual youth.
How Communities HelpFamilies, schools and communities play important roles in resilient children's lives. It is very important that if support is lacking in some area, it is compensated for in another. Components of protective environments include caring relationships with adults and peers, high expectations for contributing or doing well in school, and meaningful opportunities for participation like being a member of a club or caring for a sibling. These protective environments as well as the individual-level factors are among the things Minnesota's Search Institute refers to as the "40 Developmental Assets".
In sum, resilience, defined as the ability to bounce back from hard times even in the harshest environments, is characterized by common protective factors.
- Love - youth need at least one adult who provides consistent love, care, support and encouragement. This does not have to be a relative or parent, just someone who cares.
- A chance to participate in lots of activities to develop talents. Boy/Girl Scouts, extra curricular activities at school, or Boys and Girls clubs are good examples.
- A chance to develop leadership. Strong positive peer groups are important but having mentors to help youth become adults seems crucial. Older youth can also gain a great deal from mentoring younger children.
- Connections to family and school, even when adults percieve they are being pushed away, are extremely important.
You can learn more at Helping America's Youth and the Search Institute.
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