Resilience in the face of adversity: classes of positive adaptation in trauma-exposed children and adolescents in residential care

Autor(en)

Katharina Sölva, Alexander Haselgruber, Brigitte Lueger-Schuster

Abstrakt

Children and adolescents in residential care often face multiple traumatic experiences. However, some individuals show resilient adaptation. To depict this heterogeneity, the person-centered examination of different classes of adaptation is a powerful tool. Up to date, resilience was insufficiently addressed in this population. Data from 141 children and adolescents in residential care institutions in Austria regarding trauma history, psychopathology, behavioral adjustment, and protective factors were assessed with standardized self-report questionnaires. Distinct classes of adaptation after traumatic experiences were examined with Latent Class Analysis. Class differences regarding traumatic experiences and protective factors were analyzed with χ2 testing. Three classes were identified [resilience (66.18%), mixed psychopathology (13.97%, mixed), high psychopathology (19.85%, high)]. Only males were classified into the resilient class and only females into the high class. The high class differed significantly from the resilient class regarding cumulative trauma history and protective factors. The mixed class did not differ from the resilient class regarding trauma history, however, they differed significantly regarding protective factors. The resilient class was associated with protective factors. Strong gender differences show the relevance of a differentiated evaluation of gender-specific protective factors and resilience indicators. Fostering protective factors may be a suitable approach for tailored intervention measures.

Organisation(en)

Institut für Klinische und Gesundheitspsychologie

Journal

BMC Psychology

Band

11

Anzahl der Seiten

13

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-023-01049-x

Publikationsdatum

01-2022

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ÖFOS 2012

501010 Klinische Psychologie

Schlagwörter

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Psychology(all)

Link zum Portal

https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/de/publications/resilience-in-the-face-of-adversity-classes-of-positive-adaptation-in-traumaexposed-children-and-adolescents-in-residential-care(b7900582-0b06-4155-89ff-be079ee202de).html