scholarly journals From adverse childhood experiences to wellbeing: Portfolios of resilience

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-38
Author(s):  
Christine Wekerle

Resilience has always been present across human history, as we have contended with the wide array of adversities. Resilience research has gained significantly increasing momentum as a core principle of the trauma-informed approach to service. Resilience research supports not only targeting psychopathology symptom reduction, but also recognizing a portfolio of resilience components to harness in youth interventions. The present discussion considers the innovative research work of Hamby and colleagues (2020) in terms of their portfolio of resilience model and current evidence for a dual-factor model of social support (social support seeking and social support receiving). Social support is a frequent intervention component, particularly in developing help-seeking skills, within youth programming. Their findings support this factorial approach that considers the giving-receiving experience, and how the four categories of Interconnected, Rebuffed, Tended, and Isolated may relate to differing resilience profiles. This research raises important questions for future work in terms of the fit between seeking and receiving that places the youth centrally in this consideration. Youths’ journey from trauma to resilience in a way that validates their portfolio of resilience assets, strengths, and potential is central to a trauma-informed approach to youth well-being, as well as how we negotiate youth rights with our developmental, clinical and health responsibilities.

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-17
Author(s):  
Sherry Hamby ◽  
Elizabeth Taylor ◽  
Kimberly Mitchell ◽  
Lisa Jones ◽  
Chris Newlin

Objectives: This study adopts a dual-factor approach to examine the association of seeking and receiving social support with 6 indicators of current functioning and 14 psychosocial strengths. Methods: A survey completed by 440 youth ages 10 to 21 (M = 16.38, SD = 3.04) assessed strengths, functioning, and victimization. Youth were classified into four groups: Interconnected (high on social support seeking and receiving; 33% of sample), Rebuffed (high on social support seeking, low on social support receiving; 12%), Tended (low on social support seeking, high on social support receiving; 16%), and Isolated (low on social support seeking and receiving; 39%). Results: Controlling for age, gender, and victimization, the social support group was associated with each meaning making, regulatory, and interpersonal strength, and every indicator of current functioning except trauma symptoms. The Isolated group scored lowest on all measures and the Interconnected group scored highest on 19 of 20 measures. The mixed profile groups fell between these extremes. Notably, the Rebuffed group reported higher levels of some strengths and non-theistic spiritual well-being than the Tended group. The Tended group was never significantly higher than the Rebuffed group. Implications: Individual skills and attitudes regarding helpseeking may be more impactful than social support provided by others. Rebuffed youth may be steeling themselves in other strengths when the social environment is not supportive.


2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 605-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca K. Blais ◽  
Keith D. Renshaw

Background: Research suggests that biological and psychological attributions for depression are related to professional help-seeking, but the association of these attributions with informal support seeking in social relationships is unknown. As social support is linked with recovery from depression and a lower likelihood of experiencing future episodes of depression, it is important to understand factors that influence an individual's decision to seek social support. Aims: The present study examined depressed individuals’ own attributions for their depressive symptoms (i.e. personal attributions), perceptions of a friend's attributions for these symptoms (i.e. perceived attributions), and the depressed individuals’ willingness to seek social support from that friend. Method: Eighty-six individuals experiencing at least mild depressive symptoms completed self-report measures of personal attributions, perceived attributions, and a social support seeking intentions scale. Results: Participants’ own attributions for depressive symptoms were unrelated to their willingness to seek social support. In contrast, perceived biological attributions were related to greater help-seeking intentions, whereas perceived psychological attributions were associated with lower support seeking intentions. Conclusions: These results suggest that decisions to seek social support are more influenced by perceptions of others’ beliefs about depression than one's own beliefs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-58
Author(s):  
E.K. Veselova ◽  
E.Yu. Korjova ◽  
O.V. Rudykhina ◽  
T.V. Anisimova

Objective. Analysis of the role of social support in ensuring the subjective well-being of students. Background. Subjective well-being is an integral experience of physical, psychological, and social health. Social support as an important resource of subjective well-being of young people has not yet received comprehensive coverage. Study design. We studied the differences between students with high and low levels of subjective well-being in terms of attitude to social support and readiness to apply for it. Frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, and comparative analysis were used for data processing. Participants. The study involved 850 respondents. The sample includes students of different courses and faculties of universities in Saint Petersburg and Novosibirsk. Measurements. To collect empirical data, Russian-language versions of the following methods were used: 1) Multidimensional Scale of Perception of Social support — MSPSS by D. Zimet; 2) The Multidi-mensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MHC-SF) — screening version of the test by C. Keyes to assess subjective well-being; 3) The General Help Seeking Questionnaire (GHSQ). Results. Students are more willing to seek help from people in their immediate environment (romantic partners, friends, parents, relatives) than from specialists (psychologists, doctors, religious figures). There are significant differences between students with high and low levels of subjective well-being in terms of intent to search for different types of social support. Conclusions. There is a large gap in students’ perception of the effectiveness of informal types of support (from family, friends, relatives, significant persons) and formal, professional types of support (psychologists, doctors, helpline). Informal types of support enjoy a degree of trust higher than that of professional types of support. That is why it is necessary to organize and improve the student assistance service at higher educational institutions


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernhard Leipold ◽  
Marco Munz ◽  
Amy Michéle-Malkowsky

Three general types of coping (problem-focused coping, social support-seeking, and meaning-focused coping) in the transition from adolescence to early adulthood are examined. Specifically, we investigated age differences, their interdependence, and their adaptive function in respect to academic work-related stress (resilience). The present study examined these issues in a cross-sectional assessment (1,608 pupils and students between 14 and 30 years). Problem-focused coping and seeking social support were positively correlated with age. Age-moderated analyses showed pronounced associations between problem-focused coping and support-seeking in adolescence, but stronger associations between problem- and meaning-focused coping in young adulthood. Seeking social support and meaning-focused coping moderated the negative correlation between subjective stress and well-being. Age differences and the adaptive role of coping are discussed within a developmental framework.


GeroPsych ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lia Oberhauser ◽  
Andreas B. Neubauer ◽  
Eva-Marie Kessler

Abstract. Conflict avoidance increases across the adult lifespan. This cross-sectional study looks at conflict avoidance as part of a mechanism to regulate belongingness needs ( Sheldon, 2011 ). We assumed that older adults perceive more threats to their belongingness when they contemplate their future, and that they preventively react with avoidance coping. We set up a model predicting conflict avoidance that included perceptions of future nonbelonging, termed anticipated loneliness, and other predictors including sociodemographics, indicators of subjective well-being and perceived social support (N = 331, aged 40–87). Anticipated loneliness predicted conflict avoidance above all other predictors and partially mediated the age-association of conflict avoidance. Results suggest that belongingness regulation accounts may deepen our understanding of conflict avoidance in the second half of life.


2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 194-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Newman ◽  
Christine A. Limbers ◽  
James W. Varni

The measurement of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children has witnessed significant international growth over the past decade in an effort to improve pediatric health and well-being, and to determine the value of health-care services. In order to compare international HRQOL research findings across language groups, it is important to demonstrate factorial invariance, i.e., that the items have an equivalent meaning across the language groups studied. This study examined the factorial invariance of child self-reported HRQOL across English- and Spanish-language groups in a Hispanic population of 2,899 children ages 8–18 utilizing the 23-item PedsQL™ 4.0 Generic Core Scales. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed specifying a five-factor model across language groups. The findings support an equivalent 5-factor structure across English- and Spanish-language groups. Based on these data, it can be concluded that children across the two languages studied interpreted the instrument in a similar manner. The multigroup CFA statistical methods utilized in the present study have important implications for cross-cultural assessment research in children in which different language groups are compared.


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