Living in difficult conditions: an analysis of the factors associated with resilience in youth of a disadvantaged city

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Children and adolescents facing difficult life circumstances due to social, economic and cultural adversity, form a disadvantaged group in terms of social functioning and healthy psycho-social development. The goal of this study was to evaluate the psychological resilience of high school students in Muş Citywhich was ranked last in the general life index among 81 provinces according to 2015 data from the Turkish Statistical Instituteand to examine different dimensions of psychological resilience in relation to a variety of variables including adverse life events and demographic characteristics. METHOD: The study sample consisted of 1025 students from the 10th and 11th grades of five different high schools operating in the city centre of Muş. Participants were asked to fill in a socio-demographic questionnaire, the List of Adverse Life Events and the 59-item Resilience and Youth Development Module (RYDM). A series of correlational and descriptive analyses were then performed. RESULTS: Correlational analyses revealed that among the demographic factors, low economic status, a criminal record and poor academic performance were associated with poor psychological resilience, while among adverse life events, the deterioration of parental economic status, frequent arguments between parents as well as a history of mental illness and alcohol/substance abuse in the family were also linked to low levels of psychological resilience. It was also determined that girls had higher scores on internal assets of RYDM (empathy, problem solving, self efficacy, communication and cooperation, goals, self awareness and educational aspirations), while exposure to a larger number of adverse life events negatively affected internal resilience assets. Finally, trauma exposure, just as the low RYDM scores, seems to be associated with frequent arguments between parents, alcohol/ substance abuse in the family, male gender and a criminal record. However, there was no significant relationship between psychological resilience and trauma alone. CONCLUSION: Interventions to improve psychological resilience, which is a dynamic process, need to be comprehensive and multi-dimensional. In this context, it is crucial to elucidate the factors associated with the psychological resilience of children and adolescents exposed to a specific risk factor, such as adverse living conditions. In order to improve our understanding of psychological resilience and youth development in Turkey and to determine specific needs for interventions, future studies on various risk groups in different pilot citiesas in the example of Muşare needed.

Fatores relacionados à resiliência de adolescentes em contextos de vulnerabilidade social: revisão integrativa

“…Resilience in Palestinian Adolescents Living in Gaza Estudio transversal / IV Hiller et al (25) , 2017 Post-trauma coping in the context of significant adversity: a qualitative study of young people living in an urban township in South Africa Estudio descriptivo cualitativo / IV Namy et al (26) , 2017 Gender, violence and resilience among Ugandan adolescents Estudio transversal / IV Bulut et al (27) , 2018…”

“…UU. (17,27) y Sudáfrica (18,21) han demostrado que el dinero y el empleo son cuestiones importantes para revertir las situaciones de vulnerabilidad a las que están expuestos los jóvenes y fortalecer su resiliencia. Cabe señalar que en estudios con adolescentes en los EE.…”

“…La escuela fue una variable mencionada en la mayoría de los estudios (14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)22,23,(25)(26)(27)29,30) . Aunque los estudios realizados en una aldea rusa (14) , en los EE.…”

“…La clase 4 (Exposición) está muy cerca de la clase 3 porque menciona otros factores de riesgo a los que están expuestos los adolescentes. El consumo de alcohol y otras sustancias (14,15,(19)(20)(21)(22)25,27) ha sido descrito en varios estudios. Aunque el uso de sustancias denota un factor de riesgo y exposición para los jóvenes en situaciones de vulnerabilidad social, algunas situaciones se configuran como una forma de escapar para hacer frente a los estresores (21,25) .…”

“…Aitcheson et al (26) Mozambiqu e Examinar la prevalencia de depresión y ansiedad y los predictores de resiliencia en un grupo de adolescentes. Hiller et al (27) Sudáfrica Comprender las redes de apoyo y las estrategias de afrontamiento para los jóvenes en un contexto de adversidades y riesgos significativos. Namy et al (28) Uganda Explorar las dimensiones de la resiliencia y las asociaciones con las experiencias de violencia entre los adolescentes.…”