Child development: Vulnerability and resilience

Abstract

Alrstraet--Many of the challenges facing children now are a function of changing times, including increase in urbanization, political violence, changing family forms, and in some areas decreased supplies of adequate food. This review focuses particularly on those changes in which children are the victims and which induce new threats for them, rather than on problems such as child disability or mental illness. The outcome variables of interest in this paper are dimensions of children's psychosocial development, including cognitive development, psychological adjustment and aggression, whereas the companion paper in this issue (Caldwell P., Child survival: vulnerability and resilience in adversity in the European past and the contemporary Third World, Soc. Sci. Med.) [1] focuses on physical aspects of children's development. The risks that are hurdles in the process of development of a young child begin from conception and carry on into later life. To address them all would be impossible; thus, in order to do justice to the issues at hand, we have chosen those risks that, in our view, are important in a child's psychosocial development in developing countries. This paper will thus provide a discussion of the concepts of risk and resilience, then apply these concepts to the analysis of three examples of risk faced by children today: nutritional threats (e.g. malnutrition due to decline in breastfeeding); family dynamics and types of family forms (e.g. child fostering and non-traditional families); and experiences of violence (domestic or political). In each case, the same four questions will be addressed: what are the consequences of the risk factor for children, what are the etiologies and conditions of risk, are there any children who seem to cope with the risk factor successfully and what are some of the protective factors, and what interventions or programs would help support these children?

Risco e proteção: em busca de um equilíbrio promotor de resiliência

“…Embora a análise do risco inicialmente tenha examinado esses fatores como eventos estáticos, eventualmente, análises mais sofisticadas sugerem que o risco é um processo, e que, por exemplo, o número total de fatores de risco a que uma criança foi exposta, o período de tempo, o momento da exposição ao risco e o contexto são mais importantes do que uma única exposição grave (Engle, Castle & Menon, 1996).…”

Developmental risks and psychosocial adjustment among low-income Brazilian youth

“…Much of the prior work on developmental risk and resilience has been guided by an ecological perspective (e.g., Brooks-Gunn, 1995;Engle, Castle, & Menon, 1996;Garbarino, 2001;Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000). Similarly, our work draws on Bronfenbrenner's bioecological or ecological framework (e.g., Bronfenbrenner, 1979Bronfenbrenner, , 2004Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998), which offers a useful lens for studying development because it demands that attention be paid to multiple levels of influence and to factors both within and outside the individual, including the larger context.…”

Resiliencia, infancia y nutrición: propuesta de indicadores para medición en niños y adolescentes

“…Este nivel comienza a incrementarse significativamente a medida que el niño crece. El tercer nivel del sistema social está representado por los sistemas de gobierno, culturales o legales, que determinan el ambiente del niño (11).…”

“…En circunstancias de riesgo, algunos niños aprenden a manejar las situaciones y prosperan, mientras que otros son vulnerables. Se ha descrito la resiliencia como la predisposición individual a resistir las consecuencias negativas del riesgo y a desarrollarse adecuadamente (11). Estos niños responden más al contacto con otros seres humanos y generan más reacciones positivas en las otras personas; además, son activos, flexibles y adaptables.…”