Future Directions in Research and Intervention with Youths in Poverty

Abstract

This article aims to integrate theory and empirical findings about understanding and fostering the process of resilience and adaptation in children and families who live in poverty. In this article, we draw from multiple, somewhat distinct, scholarly streams to identify sources of protection, integrating across the literatures on stress and coping, psychophysiology, cultural identity development, and empowerment theory. Because living in poverty cuts across other dimensions of social differentiation and structural inequality, intersectionality theory frames our discussion of how to leverage poverty-affected youths' diverse experiences. We present a framework to guide intervention and research on resiliency promotion, describe the Building a Strong Identity and Coping Skills intervention stemming from the framework, and suggest possible avenues and next steps for both interventions and research.

Co‐Occurring Youth Profiles of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Protective Factors: Associations with Health, Resilience, and Racial Disparities

“…Belonging to an ethnic minority group can negatively impact health through exposure to discrimination and marginalization; however, cultural identity can also play a protective role. For example, past researchers have described the concept of an adaptive cultural identity that arises in response to collective, historical experiences of oppression (Wadsworth, Ahlkvist, McDonald, & Tilghman‐Osborne, ). Therefore, future research on risk and protective factors for youth of different race/ethnicity should explore the role of culture, including cultural values, norms, traditions, and acculturation.…”

Applying the family stress model to parental acculturative stress and Latinx youth adjustment: A review of the literature

“…Whether emotion‐focused, problem‐focused, or avoidant coping strategies are used within specific settings and in combination with individual characteristics, PAS may exert differential effects on youth adjustment. Likewise, primary (e.g., task‐oriented) versus secondary (i.e., cognitive reframing) coping strategies may modify individual behaviors relating to AS and family functioning (Wadsworth et al, 2018). Because coping strategies are virtually absent from studies of PAS and Latinx youth adjustment, we need research to understand if, and under what conditions, they serve promotive or protective functions in the context of acculturation‐related family stress in Latinx families.…”

Social Justice in Counseling Psychology: Then, Now, and Looking Forward

“…For example, recent issues of TCP include articles on the experiences of transgender and gender nonconforming People of Color (Lefevor, Janis, Franklin, & Stone, 2019), non-U.S.-based international college students (Kim & Yon, 2019), and individuals who panhandle (Cadaret et al, 2018). Researchers in other psychological disciplines have also been drawing attention to necessary future directions in justice-oriented research such as family separation (Humphreys, 2019) and youth poverty (Wadsworth, Ahlkvist, McDonald, & Tilghman-Osborne, 2018). Although justice-oriented research by traditional methods must continue and expand in the service of disrupting oppressive systems, we also need to expand our use of nontraditional methods.…”