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Research and ArticlesResearch & Articles: The Resilient Child Marilyn Lopes Why do a small number of children thrive under the same conditions that destroy other youngsters who are forced to endure them? Research information pinpoints protective factors that help some children surmount bad experiences. The Kauai Longitudinal Study (KLS), collecting data for more than thirty years, followed the development of 698 youngsters from birth to adulthood, concentrating on subjects when they were 1, 2, 10, 18 and between 30 and 32 years old. Two-thirds of the multi-racial sample of children born on the rural island of Kauai in 1955 were delivered without complications and grew up in supportive families. One-third of the children had problems around the time of birth and were raised in households struggling with poverty, marital discord or break-up, mental health problems or alcoholism, and headed by poorly-educated parents. By age 10, three out of four of these children in troubled environments had developed serious learning and/or behavioral problems. Before age 18, many had records of delinquency or had been pregnant. One out of four of these unfortunate children - 30 boys and 42 girls - came through unscathed. They have grown into "competent, confident and caring young adults," reports Emmy E. Werner in Zero to Three. The researchers found that these resilient youngsters shared certain personal characteristics from the beginning. They possessed temperaments that worked in their favor and personalities that attracted favorable attention from at least one adult who responded to them with affection and interest - especially during the first year of life. The KLS study confirmed that a close childhood bond with at least one caretaker seemed to act as a life preserver which kept the child afloat in a turbulent environment. This critical person was not necessarily a parent. A grandparent, an older sibling, a sitter, or a teacher could fill the role as long as he or she "accepted the child unconditionally, regardless of temperamental idiosyncrasies, physical attractiveness, or intelligence." WHO IS THE RESILIENT CHILD? Resilient children seem to share some appealing traits that draw adults to them. - They were active as infants, but also easy babies - affectionate,
not - As toddlers, they combined a love of independence and autonomy with positive social skills. They were described as friendly and cheerful, as well as self-confident, determined, and aggressive. The resilient children grew up in families where siblings were separated in age by at least two years and with no more than four children in the household. - For boys, the position of eldest child was an important protective factor. - For girls, "the model of a mother who was steadily and gainfully employed" exerted a powerful influence. THE RESILIENT CHILD AS AN ADULT The most recent follow-up of 545 subjects at age 30 showed that these special young people still shared characteristics that separated them from the high-risk peers who had developed major learning and behavior problems and whose later records included criminal activity, mental-health difficulties and early pregnancies. - Three out of four reported they are pleased with their current lives. - Eighty-six percent of the women are married mothers with full-time jobs. Only 50 percent of the men have chosen to become parents at this point in the study. - Parents of both sexes agree that their strongest hope for their own children is that the youngsters "will acquire personal competence and skills." THE PROTECTIVE FACTORS ARE ... Three major, "relatively enduring" protective factors have enabled these strong, resilient, well-functioning individuals to withstand the troubles that overwhelmed the others who faced them. These are attributes such as activity level, sociability, and intelligence, which have a strong genetic base ... unconditional emotional support from a family member or close friend ... and a school or work atmosphere that rewarded effort and competency. Caregivers may not be able to eliminate "bad" childhoods, but we can try to provide some of the proven protective factors that help children survive and thrive. DOCUMENT USE/COPYRIGHT Reprinted with permission from the National Network for Child Care - NNCC. (1993). The resilient child. In M. Lopes (Ed.) CareGiver News (September, p. 2). Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Cooperative Extension. Any additions or changes to these materials must be preapproved by the author. COPYRIGHT PERMISSION ACCESS
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