Do Social Support, Self-efficacy and Resilience Influence the Experience of Stress in Ghanaian Orphans? An Exploratory Study

Yendork, Joana Salifu; Somhlaba, Nceba Z.

doi:10.1080/13575279.2014.985286

Cited by 33 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 48 publications

(61 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Research has placed an emphasis on children's personal resources for coping and resilience particularly enhancing skills such as self-efficacy, creativity, and self-regulation, which can help children to succeed under pressure (Lavoie, Pereira, & Talwar, 2014;Waaktaar et al, 2004;Yendork & Somhlaba, 2015). Research has placed an emphasis on children's personal resources for coping and resilience particularly enhancing skills such as self-efficacy, creativity, and self-regulation, which can help children to succeed under pressure (Lavoie, Pereira, & Talwar, 2014;Waaktaar et al, 2004;Yendork & Somhlaba, 2015).…”

Section: Pressure To Thrive In the Modern Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Much work has focussed on parental social support; however, one study linked both friend and family social support to higher levels of resilience in children who have experienced early life adversity (Yendork & Somhlaba, 2015). Much work has focussed on parental social support; however, one study linked both friend and family social support to higher levels of resilience in children who have experienced early life adversity (Yendork & Somhlaba, 2015).…”

Section: Learning Life's Lessonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

‘Every day I worry about something’: A qualitative exploration of children’s experiences of stress and coping

Cheetham-Blake

Family

Turner‐Cobb

2019

British J Health Psychol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ObjectivesMost research investigating children’s experiences of stress and coping has utilized a quantitative approach. This study aimed to examine children’s experiences of stress by conducting interviews with children and their parents.DesignDyadic child–parent interviews, embedded within a multiphase design.MethodsThirty‐eight children (22 boys) aged 7–11 years and 38 parents (34 mothers) completed in‐depth dyadic interviews about stressful life events, adversity, and coping, analysed using inductive thematic analysis with a phenomenological lens.ResultsFour themes emerged: (1) navigating the social minefield; (2) pressure to thrive in the modern world; (3) fear of the unknown; and (4) learning life’s lessons. The first suggested that social relationships are a major feature of children’s stress experiences; however, social support was also found to be a beneficial coping mechanism. The second theme highlighted multiple sources of pressure on young children (including school, extracurricular activities, pressure from self and others); the impact of such pressure was dependent upon children’s coping resources. The third theme emphasized the difficulty of coping with novel stressors, and how awareness can help reduce this fear. The final theme highlighted important lessons that children can learn from stressful experiences and how to cope with stress.ConclusionsThis study addresses the importance of the person and context‐dependent nature of stress and coping in order for children to survive and thrive following stressful experiences. These findings contribute to existing knowledge that could be used to develop a toolkit for coping with stress, designed specifically for children, parents, schools, and services. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Stress experienced in childhood can have a significant impact on psychological and physiological outcomes across the life course. It is known that individual differences are vital for understanding the effects of stress on health, for children as well as adults. Qualitative methods enable deeper understanding of children’s experiences of stress and coping. What does the study add? Depth and breadth to understanding children’s experiences of stressful events.An individual differences focus on the early stress experience that is frequently overlooked.Support for the use of a dyadic interview approach for assessing children’s stress experiences.

show abstract

Section: Pressure To Thrive In the Modern Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Learning Life's Lessonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Every day I worry about something’: A qualitative exploration of children’s experiences of stress and coping

Cheetham-Blake

Family

Turner‐Cobb

2019

British J Health Psychol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A considerable amount of such research comes from the care industry, but the particular work setting of residential institutions that provide care for CPWC is conspicuously absent from this body of research. Instead, research in the institutional CWPC care environment has largely focused on the children and the various ways in which their lives and development are affected by that environment (see The St. Petersburg-USA Orphanage Research Team, 2008;Freidus, 2010;Groark et al, 2005;Johnson et al, 2010;Perry, Sigal, Boucher, & Paré, 2006;Trout, Hagaman, Casey, Reid, & Epstein, 2008;Yendork & Somhlaba, 2015). This research has often been critical of caregivers, sometimes resulting in negative public rhetoric against them (see Anas, 2010Anas, , 2015.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Caring for “Parentless” Children: An Exploration of Work Stressors and Resources as Experienced by Caregivers in Children’s Homes in Ghana

Darkwah

Asumeng

Daniel

2017

IJCYFS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:The experience of stress by workers in any work environment has negative impacts on employee health and productivity. However, work resources are known to have possible neutralizing impacts on the negative effects of stress depending on the availability of those resources and the extent to which employees are able to identify and utilize them. This study explores this stress-resource relationship and its implications in a work context where the lives of vulnerable children depend on the wellbeing and productivity of their employed caregivers. Qualitative exploratory techniques were used to investigate the sources and nature of stressors experienced by caregivers and the extent to which caregivers identify and utilize resources available in that work environment. Participants comprised 41 caregivers from 2 children's homes in Ghana. It emerged that aspects of the work environment that were identified as stressors also tended to be identified as resources for caregivers. These included the children, the work environment, institution-community relations, and relationships between caregivers and their own families. Caregiver faith and intrinsic motivation stood out as the most frequently reported of the resources upon which caregivers drew to cope with their jobs.

show abstract

“…Previous research has also focussed on how resilience can impact acute stress responses, for example characteristics of resilience such as personality and temperament have been found to impact how children respond to the TSST (Childs, White, & de Wit, 2014;Tyrka et al, 2007). Similarly, research has considered how temperament can enhance stress-resilience (Smith & Prior, 1995;Yendork & Somhlaba, 2015) and how distinguishing between resilient and stress-affected adolescents helps us to better understand the protective resources which can be used to moderate stress responses (D'Imperio et al, 2000).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilience characteristics and prior life stress determine anticipatory response to acute social stress in children aged 7–11 years

Cheetham-Blake

Turner‐Cobb

Family

et al. 2019

British J Health Psychol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives To assess the interplay of prior life stress and characteristics of resilience in determining how children cope with potentially stressful situations, using a two‐phase study that triangulates parent–child dyadic interview data with subsequent experience of an acute laboratory stressor in 7–11‐year‐olds. Methods Participants (n = 34) were designated as being in one of four groups based on high/low levels of prior stress experience and high/low resilience ratings assessed during at‐home interviews and from questionnaires measuring recent life events, hassles, and trait coping. During a subsequent laboratory stress protocol, salivary cortisol and heart rate were monitored, and a verbal subjective report was provided. Results Salivary cortisol showed a significant increase in anticipation of the stress test, heart rate increased during the test, and children self‐reported the task as stressful. Males displayed higher levels of cortisol than females in the anticipatory period. We observed no increase in salivary cortisol in response to the stress testing phase. Using the stress/resilience categorization, children with a higher level of resilience were differentiated by cortisol level in anticipation of the acute stress experiment based on their level of prior life stress. Highly resilient children with greater experience of prior life stress showed a lower anticipatory cortisol response than highly resilient children with less experience of prior life stress. Conclusions This study highlights the relevance of contextual factors, such as prior stress experience and resilience, in physiological response to the anticipation of acute stress and has implications for understanding how children cope with stressful experiences. What is already known on this subject? An adaptation to the stress testing paradigm, the Bath Experimental Stress Test for Children (BEST‐C) was found to reliably induce a salivary cortisol response in young children, suggesting that peer matching the audience was an effective modification to laboratory social stress testing. Recent work focusing on early life adversity has seen the emergence of prior stress experience and resilience as key factors in the examination of acute stress responses. However, much of the research regarding the impact of childhood stress is ambiguous; some research suggests that if children have experienced prior stressful life events this will enact a positive effect on stress responses and lead to resilience, and other research suggested that it will have a compounding negative effect. What does the study add? Findings provide support for the capacity of the BEST‐C to induce an anticipation stress response in children. Contextual factors e.g., prior stress experience and resilience are key for understanding stress responses. Resilient children with more experience of stress show lower cortisol than those with less stress experience.

show abstract

Do Social Support, Self-efficacy and Resilience Influence the Experience of Stress in Ghanaian Orphans? An Exploratory Study

Cited by 33 publications

References 48 publications

‘Every day I worry about something’: A qualitative exploration of children’s experiences of stress and coping

‘Every day I worry about something’: A qualitative exploration of children’s experiences of stress and coping

Caring for “Parentless” Children: An Exploration of Work Stressors and Resources as Experienced by Caregivers in Children’s Homes in Ghana

Resilience characteristics and prior life stress determine anticipatory response to acute social stress in children aged 7–11 years

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About