Health-Related Quality of Life among Adolescents as a Function of Victimization, other Adversities, and Strengths.

PURPOSE: Most children are exposed to violence (e.g., peer, family, or community violence), which makes children's exposure to violence one of our most urgent social problems. The objective of this project was to examine health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in a vulnerable community sample and identify promising psychological and social protective factors to promote HRQOL in youth. DESIGN AND METHODS: The sample was 440 youth ages 10 to 21 (average age 16.38, SD = 3.04), recruited from youth-serving organizations. Participants completed a survey on HRQOL, victimization, other adversities, and a range of 16 psychological and social strengths. RESULTS: Almost 9 in 10 (89.3%) youth reported at least one victimization during their lifetime, and impaired HRQOL was common, with more than half reporting some health impairment in the month prior to the survey. Although all psychological and social strengths were positively correlated with HRQOL at the bivariate level, hierarchical regression indicated that a sense of purpose and recovering positive affect uniquely contributed to better HRQOL, after controlling for victimization, other adversities, poverty, age, and gender (total R2 = 0.21). Strengths accounted for more variance in HRQOL than did adversities. CONCLUSIONS: In this highly victimized sample of youth, many strengths were associated with improved HRQOL for youth, with sense of purpose and recovering positive affect showing the most promise for future prevention and intervention. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Programs aimed at reducing the negative impact of childhood exposure to violence may increase their impact by developing key strengths versus solely focusing on alleviating symptoms.

Poly-victimization, Trauma, and Resilience: Exploring Strengths That Promote Thriving After Adversity.

Although it is well known that victimization is associated with higher trauma symptoms, there is still limited information on the protective factors that can help people thrive after adversity. Using the Resilience Portfolio Model as a framework, this study explores a range of psychological and social strengths in a community sample of youth from the southern U.S.A sample of 440 youth aged 10 to 21 (average age 16.38, SD = 3.04) was recruited from youth-serving organizations. They completed a survey on trauma symptoms, victimization, other adversities, and 16 psychological and social strengths.Almost 9 in 10 (89.3%) youth reported one or more victimizations, with peer victimizations most common. Adult-perpetrated offenses were reported by almost half of youth (47.1%). Although several psychological and social strengths were inversely correlated with trauma symptoms at the bivariate level, hierarchical regressions indicated that a sense of purpose was the only strength that uniquely contributed to more resilient mental health in a model with all strengths and controlling for victimization, other adversities, poverty, age, and gender (total R2 = .33). The variance explained by strengths (17%) was similar to the variance explained by adversities (15%).In this highly victimized sample of youth, many strengths were associated with lower trauma symptoms for youth, with a sense of purpose showing the most promise. Prevention and intervention programs may benefit from efforts to increase a sense of purpose or other meaning making activities, in addition to efforts that specifically target incidents of trauma.

New measures to assess the social ecology of youth: A mixed-methods study.

OBJECTIVE: This project used mixed methods to expand the understanding of social ecological constructs important to youth and develop measures to assess these constructs. METHODS: Eight focus groups and 24 cognitive interviews were conducted with adolescents and caregivers. These were followed by a survey completed by 440 youth ages 10-21 (average age: 16.38, standard deviation[SD] = 3.04). RESULTS: Qualitative data revealed social ecological constructs that have received little prior research attention. These include three psychosocial strengths: relational motivation (inspiration from key adults), group connectedness (bonded to others in teams or organizations), and mattering (knowing your importance to significant others). One outcome was also identified: family well-being (subjective psychological functioning of the family). Psychometric analyses indicated that the new quantitative measures have good to excellent reliability and validity. IMPLICATIONS: The social ecology is complex and extends beyond commonly studied constructs such as social support and collective efficacy. More comprehensive assessments can further research.

From Poly-Victimization to Poly-Strengths: Understanding the Web of Violence Can Transform Research on Youth Violence and Illuminate the Path to Prevention and Resilience.

For many years, an overly "siloed" approach has hampered efforts to understand violence and minimize the societal burden of violence and victimization. This article discusses the limitations of an overly specialized approach to youth violence research, which has focused too much on violence in particular contexts, such as the family or the school. Instead, a child-centered approach is needed that comprehensively assesses all exposures to violence. This concept of the total cumulative burden of violence is known as poly-victimization. The poly-victimization framework reveals that many youth are entangled in a web of violence, experiencing victimization in multiple settings by multiple perpetrators. This more accurate view of children's exposure to violence has many advantages for advancing our scientific understanding of violence. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, this more comprehensive view also points to new insights for resilience and prevention. This includes recognizing a parallel concept, "poly-strengths," which captures the number of resources and assets children and their families can use to help insulate youth from violence (prevention) or assist in coping and promoting well-being after victimization (intervention). Reconceptualizing how resilience is defined and understood among youth populations can help alleviate the true societal burden of youth victimization.