The Sport Experience Measure for Children and Youth (SEM:CY): A Rasch Validation Study.

This study employed Rasch analyses to validate a novel measure of sport experience: the Sport Experience Measure: Children and Youth (SEM:CY). Analyses were applied to self-reported data of n = 503 young people (age 9-18 years, M = 12.91, 50% female) in Canada who were engaging in sport during the previous 12 months. The revised measure, consisting of 24 items on a 3-point response scale, demonstrated good fit statistics (e.g., item fit residual: M = -0.50, SD = 0.94 and person fit residual: M = -0.62, SD = 2.33), an ability to reliably discriminate between levels of sport experience, and an absence of differential item functioning for various groups (males and females, older and younger individuals, solo and team sports, and those playing at various competitive levels, including recreation). The SEM:CY is a succinct tool that can serve as a valuable means to gauge the quality of an individual's sport experience, which can facilitate positive youth development and sustain participation across the life span.

Assessment of Professional Circus Students' Psychological Characteristics at Four Strategic Timepoints over the Scholastic Year: A Longitudinal Study Using the Stress Process Model.

OBJECTIVE: The circus professionalization process entails extensive training to mitigate the high-risk demands which increase stress in artists. In high-risk professions, everyday hassles (challenges) contribute greatly to overall stress. To capture the impact of daily challenges on student-artists, the aim of the current study was to describe the magnitude and pattern of daily challenges as well as their relationships with perceived coping, anxiety, fatigue, and psychological distress. METHODS: Ninety-two students at École Nationale de Cirque (ENC), in Montreal, Canada, completed the Circus Daily Challenges Questionnaire (CDCQ) and scales assessing perceived coping, state anxiety, and fatigue at four time points over 1 school year. The Kessler 6 Non-Specific Psychological Distress Scale (K6) was implemented at one time point. RESULTS: Findings revealed significant fluctuations in challenge level and management of challenges throughout the school year, with schedule, technical development, artistic expression, physical preparation, and sleep reported as high during the two examination periods. The lowest challenge-level scores were achieved following the extended breaks in the annual calendar. Daily challenge positively correlated to state anxiety and fatigue, and negatively correlated with perceived coping. The student-artists reported higher prevalence of moderate psychological distress to general populations. CONCLUSION: Befitting the Stress Process Model, a strong interplay between variables was observed, and the life challenges assessment provides a basis for interventions based upon commonalities across the group, as well as individually tailored.

Family Resilience in a Resource-Cursed Community Dependent on the Oil and Gas Industry.

The economic and social well-being of rural, "resource-cursed" communities can depend on the boom-bust cycles of a single industry like oil and gas. This study used a constructivist, inductive approach to identify the challenges placed on families in one such community and the processes that strengthen family resilience. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 adult residents (30-76 years old, 19 women) from a community in Alberta, Canada, that has specialized in oil and gas extraction for 70 years and experienced its worst economic downturn while the study was underway. Results showed that many families have experienced an endless cycle of poor work-life balance and income instability throughout the economic cycle. Family life often lacked social cohesion as a consequence of demanding work schedules and economic pressures. Additional challenges were the perceived negative effects of rigid gender roles, substance abuse, family conflicts, and domestic violence. Crucial strengthening processes for family resilience were fundamental financial and living standard adaptations (e.g., living within or below one's economic means; having both spouses become earners), maintaining regular contact by having a flexible home routine, and mutually agreeing to change roles during busts (former earners take responsibility for caregiving and running of the household and vice versa). Alternatively, accepting economic volatility and its impact on normal family life processes were essential for family resilience. Findings suggest the need for clinicians to help families foster resilience in communities that depend on resource extraction industries with concurrent adaptations required by individuals, families, and socio-political and economic systems.

El bienestar económico y social de las comunidades rurales "malditas por los recursos" puede depender de los ciclos de auge y caída de una industria única como la del petróleo y el gas. En este estudio se usó un método constructivista e inductivo para identificar las dificultades que enfrentan las familias en una comunidad de este tipo y los procesos que fortalecen la resiliencia familiar. Se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas con 35 adultos residentes (de entre 30 y 76 años, 19 mujeres) de una comunidad de Alberta, Canadá, que se ha especializado en la extracción de petróleo y gas durante 70 años y sufrió su peor recesión económica mientras el estudio estaba en marcha. Los resultados indicaron que muchas familias han pasado por un ciclo interminable de desequilibrio entre la vida personal y la laboral, y por la inestabilidad de ingresos durante todo el ciclo económico. La vida familiar con frecuencia careció de integración social como consecuencia de horarios de trabajo demandantes y presiones económicas. Otras dificultades fueron los efectos negativos percibidos de los roles de género rígidos, el abuso de sustancias, los conflictos familiares y la violencia doméstica. Los procesos de fortalecimiento esenciales para la resiliencia familiar fueron las adaptaciones fundamentales de los niveles de vida y económicos (p. ej.: vivir dentro o por debajo de los medios económicos propios; hacer que ambos cónyuges sean asalariados), mantener contacto periódico teniendo una rutina flexible en el hogar y acordar mutuamente cambiar de roles durante las recesiones (los exasalariados asumen la responsabilidad del cuidado y el funcionamiento del hogar, y viceversa). Alternativamente, aceptar la volatilidad económica y su efecto en los procesos normales de la vida familiar fue esencial para la resiliencia familiar. Los resultados indican la necesidad de que los profesionales clínicos ayuden a las familias a fomentar la resiliencia en las comunidades que dependen de las industrias de extracción de recursos mediante adaptaciones simultáneas necesarias para las personas, las familias y los sistemas sociopolíticos y económicos.

Resilience processes among Ukrainian youth preparing to build resilience with peers during the Ukraine-Russia war.

The war in Ukraine significantly impacts the mental health and well-being of its youth. Like other communities affected by war, Ukraine's youth are at risk of developing psychopathological symptoms, and there is a shortage of mental health and psychosocial support services to address this. Resilience-building initiatives present an alternative approach to supporting the well-being of young people by promoting protective processes to enhance the likelihood of positive development in the context of adversity. Emerging research findings suggest that young people themselves can serve as powerful facilitators of such initiatives with one another. Yet, evidence about culturally and contextually relevant protective processes is needed to guide such interventions, especially among young people experiencing the war and working to boost resilience within their communities. In this study, we identified key protective processes Ukrainian youth depend on as they adapt to the conflict while also preparing to implement a resilience-building intervention as a facilitator. Through thematic analysis of transcripts of three training sessions with Ukrainian youth (n = 15, 100% female; aged 18-22), we identified the following themes: positive thinking, sense of control, emotion awareness and regulation, close personal relationships, and community support. Findings also highlighted the cultural and contextual nuance of these protective processes, as well as individual differences in the ways they co-occurred and manifested within each youth. Results have implications for developing tailored yet flexible resilience-building interventions that can be delivered by lay people, including youth with their peers, in Ukraine and other cultures and contexts.

Does volunteering impact refugee women's life satisfaction, empowerment, and wellbeing? Experimental evidence, local knowledge, and causal reasoning.

BACKGROUND: There are gaps in the evidence base addressing whether volunteering programs enhance the wellbeing, empowerment, and life satisfaction of individual volunteers. Program impacts are seldom rigorously evaluated, whilst construct meanings remain largely unspecified, especially in the Middle East. This study tested the impacts of We Love Reading, a program training volunteers to read aloud in their local communities. It also mapped local knowledge representation. METHODS: We conducted a mixed-method program evaluation based on a randomized cluster trial with 105 Syrian refugee women from poor households in Amman, Jordan. At three time points (baseline, 5-month and 12-month-follow-up), we implemented a survey to measure levels of life satisfaction (Cantril), psychological empowerment (PE), and psychological wellbeing (PWB). We used regression models on panel data to estimate individual-level impacts, adjusting for women's characteristics and the moderating effects of their social networks. We also conducted net-mapping sessions to clarify local concepts and their causal connections, generating thematic analyses and fuzzy cognitive maps (FCMs) to represent local knowledge and causal influences. RESULTS: Life satisfaction was the only outcome variable showing a significant impact for We Love Reading (Cantril, ß = 3.00, p = 0.002). Thematic analyses and FCMs made explicit the multi-dimensional aspects of lived experiences: emphasis was placed on reaching goals, having "the full right to act," the freedom to take decisions, willingness and determination. Women explained that building their empowerment and agency was a main driver of life satisfaction, and that volunteering boosted the resolve of "not giving up" on life goals. CONCLUSION: This program evaluation integrates scientifically-rigorous and culturally-relevant methodologies to identify impacts, local knowledge systems, and causal pathways of influence. This helps clarify how and why volunteering works in real-life situations across cultural contexts, calling attention to what programs seek to achieve, how they avoid volunteer burden, and why they generate social change.

A Cross-Country Network Analysis of Resilience Systems in Young Adults.

Multisystemic resilience has been conceptualised as involving a constellation of protective factors which operate at different levels to promote adaptation and thriving despite experiences of adversity. We used network modelling to discover how protective factors at two different systemic levels (intrapersonal strengths and social-ecological resources) interrelate, drawing on survey data from 5283 emerging adults (M = 24.53 years; 52% female) in Brazil, China, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, the US and Vietnam. Results indicated that the level of connectivity within and between protective factor levels was similar between the countries, but that there was substantial variation in the specific interrelations among protective factors (both within and between levels), including the presence of some country-specific negative interrelations between protective factors at different levels. The findings support the importance of cultural context in studies of resilience, with implications for the development of appropriate resilience-building interventions for this age group.

A cross-sectional study of Canadian children's valuation of literacies across social contexts.

Background: Children, on average, do not engage in sufficient physical activity to reap the physical, mental, and social health benefits. Understanding the value that children place on movement across social contexts, and the relative ranking of this valuation, may help us to understand and intervene on activity levels. Method: This exploratory study examined the valuation of reading/writing, math, and movement across three social contexts (school, home, with friends) among children 6-13 years of age (N = 7,845; 51.3% male). Subjective task values across contexts were assessed with the valuing literacies subscale of the PLAYself. One-way Kruskal-Wallis ANOVAs were performed to test for differences between contexts and between literacies, respectively. Results: Sex differences and age-related variation were explored. Valuations of reading/writing (d = 1.16) and math (d = 1.33) decreased across context (school > family > friend), while the valuation of movement was relatively stable (d = 0.26). Valuations differed substantially with friends (p < 0.001, d = 1.03). Sex dependent effect sizes were minimal (d = 0.05-0.11). Conclusions: Movement is highly valued by children across social contexts; thus, programming across contexts should be prioritized to align with their valuation.

Analysis of Protective Factors in Schoolchildren in England Using the Dual-factor Model of Mental Health.

The dual-factor approach to mental health was employed to explore levels and interrelations of protective factors associated with resilience in a dataset of 30,841 schoolchildren aged 11-14 in England. ANOVA was used to contrast levels of protective factors between groups (combinations of higher/lower psychopathology and higher/lower wellbeing) and network analysis to explore protective factor interrelations. Levels of protective factors tended to be highest for those who had higher wellbeing and lower psychopathology (termed 'complete mental health'). Those with lower levels of protective factors were split between two subpopulations: having lower wellbeing and higher psychopathology (termed 'troubled'), and having lower wellbeing and lower psychopathology (termed 'vulnerable'). Analysis of the protective factor networks revealed that the four subpopulations of the model were distinguished by both their overall structure and individual node connectivity (the 'complete mental health' subpopulation demonstrated the greatest connectivity), though two were similar: those with higher wellbeing and higher psychopathology (termed 'symptomatic but content') and lower wellbeing and higher psychopathology ('troubled'). The results indicate that while 'vulnerable' and 'symptomatic but content' may be hard to discriminate conceptually, the former may reflect a lower capacity to cope during periods of adversity (i.e., show resilience). Overall, the results encourage a holistic approach to mental health screening, particularly as children with lower wellbeing had lower levels of the protective factors, regardless of their level of psychopathology. Moreover, interventions to improve protective factors associated with positive development in stressed environments may therefore have a greater impact on improving wellbeing than decreasing symptoms of psychopathology.

The Impact of a Gamified Mobile Mental Health App (eQuoo) on Resilience and Mental Health in a Student Population: Large-Scale Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: With many digital mental health interventions failing to engage clients for enough time to demonstrate substantive changes to their well-being and with only 2% of all digital solutions on app stores having undergone randomized controlled trials, the rising demand for mental health prevention and early intervention care is not being met. Young adults in particular struggle to find digital well-being apps that suit their needs. OBJECTIVE: This study explored the effects of eQuoo, an evidence-based mental health game that teaches psychological skills through gamification, on resilience, depression, anxiety, and attrition in a student population. METHODS: In total, 1165 students from 180 universities in the United Kingdom participated in a 5-week, 3-armed randomized controlled trial. Participants were randomly allocated into 1 of 3 groups: eQuoo users, users of a treatment-as-usual evidence-based cognitive behavioral health app called Sanvello, and a no-intervention waitlist. The Rugged Resilience Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, and Patient Health Questionnaire-8 were administered to all participants at baseline and every 7 days until completion. RESULTS: A repeated measures-ANOVA revealed statistically significant increases in resilience scores in the test group (P<.001) compared with both control groups (Sanvello: P=.10 and waitlist: P=.82) over 5 weeks. The app also significantly decreased anxiety and depression scores (both P<.001). With 64.5% (251/389) adherence, the eQuoo group retained 42% more participants than the control groups. CONCLUSIONS: Digital health interventions such as eQuoo are effective, scalable, and low-cost solutions for supporting young adults and are available on all leading mobile platforms. Further investigation could clarify the extent to which specific elements of the eQuoo app (including gamification) led to better outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION: German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS) DRKS00027638; https://drks.de/search/en/trial/DRKS00027638.

Measuring Resilience in the Context of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence: A Novel Application of the Adult Resilience Measure (ARM).

There is a rich body of research addressing the issues of conflict-related sexual violence, and a similar wealth of scholarship focused on resilience. To date, however, these literatures have rarely engaged with each other. This article developed from an ongoing research project that seeks to address this gap, by exploring how victims-/survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in three highly diverse settings - Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia and Uganda - demonstrate resilience. This research is the first to apply the Adult Resilience Measure (ARM), a 28-item scale that seeks to measure protective resources across individual, relational, and contextual subscales, to the context of conflict-related sexual violence. A total of 449 female and male participants in the three aforementioned countries completed the ARM (in the framework of the study questionnaire) as part of this research. This article presents some of the results of the analyses. Specifically, we first sought to establish through Confirmatory Factor Analysis whether the ARM was actually measuring the same construct in all three countries, by confirming the invariance (or otherwise) of the factor structure. The second aim was to explore how different resources function and cluster in different cultural contexts, to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of the different protective factors in the lives of study participants. We generated different factor structures for BiH, Colombia, and Uganda respectively, suggesting that a single factor structure does not sufficiently capture the diverse groupings of protective factors linked to the particularities of each country, including the dynamics of the conflicts themselves. Ultimately, we use the findings to underscore the need for policy approaches that move away from a deficit model and give greater attention to strengthening and investing in the (often overlooked) protective resources that victims-/survivors may already have in their everyday lives.

Understanding the Mechanisms through Which Family Risk Affects Adolescent Mental Health: A Model of Multisystemic Resilience in Context.

There is substantial evidence that exposure to family adversity significantly and negatively impacts positive adolescent development by placing adolescents at increased risk of experiencing developmental difficulties, including conduct problems. Although the mechanisms responsible for these effects are still largely unknown, a novel line of inquiry in the resilience field conceptualizes positive adaptation, following exposure to atypical adversity, as resulting from complex interactions of systems at multiple ecological levels. The purpose of the present analysis was to apply this multisystemic resilience framework to the study of positive adaptation following exposure to family adversity in a sample of Canadian adolescents (n = 230; mean age 16.16, SD = 1.38) and South African adolescents (n = 421; mean age = 15.97, SD = 1.19) living in economically volatile communities dependent on the oil and gas industry. Cross-sectional survey data were used to investigate the mechanisms through which family adversity exercises its impact on adolescent conduct problems by accounting for their caregiving, peer, and community resources. Results of two moderated mediation analyses showed that family adversity impacts adolescent externalizing mental health negatively, via disrupted caregiving, when other resources are also considered. For the Canadian adolescents, these negative impacts were protectively moderated by peer support, but not moderated by appreciation for community traditions. In contrast, peer support showed no significant protective effect for the South African sample, while a strong appreciation for community traditions was positively and significantly associated with conduct difficulties. Contextual dynamics (e.g., social unrest) provide a plausible explanation for the discrepant results and bring attention to the importance of theorizing resilience in context.

Becoming More Rugged and Better Resourced: The R2 Resilience Program's© Psychosocial Approach to Thriving.

The past decade has seen growing interest in interventions that build resilience as a complementary practice to trauma-informed care. From school-based programs focused on self-regulation and academic success to programs that support the well-being of disadvantaged populations or healthcare workers at risk of burnout, the concept of resilience is being used most commonly for programming that builds the capacity of individuals to adapt under conditions of adversity. Critiques have raised concerns that resilience-promoting programs demonstrate bias toward changing individual-level factors such as cognitions (e.g., mindfulness and grit), behavior (e.g., expressing gratitude and changing personal routines), or attachments (e.g., feeling secure in relationships) which help people adapt to socially toxic situations without changing access to the resources they require to overcome exposure to adverse psychosocial factors. This trend belies advances to the theory of resilience which support a more contextualized, multisystemic understanding of how external protective factors (resources) enhance individual qualities (ruggedness) and vice versa. Building on a multisystemic description of resilience, the R2 Resilience Program© was developed and piloted with six different populations ranging from clients of urban social services to workers in a long-term care facility, managers in the health care sector, staff of a Fortune 500 corporation, students in a primary to grade 12 school, and adult volunteers affiliated with an international NGO. Focused on building both individual ruggedness and enhancing people's resources (the two Rs), the program provides contextualized content for each population by selecting from 52 resilience promoting factors with a strong evidence base to create training curricula that enhance the personal qualities and social, physical, and institutional resources most likely to support resilience. This paper reviews the justification for a multisystemic approach to designing resilience interventions and then explains the process of implementation of the R2 program. Preliminary findings are reported, which suggest the program is experienced as effective, with evaluations ongoing.

Psychometric properties and construct validity of PLAYself: a self-reported measure of physical literacy for children and youth.

PLAYself is a tool designed for self-description of physical literacy in children and youth. We examined the tool using both the Rasch model and Classical Test Theory to explore its psychometric properties. A random selection of 300 children aged 8-14 years (47.3% female) from a dataset of 8513 Canadian children were involved in the Rasch analysis. The 3 subscales of the measure demonstrated good fit to the Rasch model, satisfying requirements of unidimensionality, having good fit statistics (item and person fit residuals = -0.17-1.47) and internal reliability (Person Separation Index = 0.70-0.82), and a lack of item bias and problematic local dependency. In a separate comparable sample, 297 children also aged 8-14 years (53.9% female) completed the PLAYfun, Physical Self-Description Questionnaire (PSDQ), Physical Activities Measure-Revised (MPAM-R), a physical activity inventory (PLAYinventory), and repeated the PLAYself 7 days later. The tests with this sample confirmed test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.81-0.84), and convergent and construct validity consistent with contemporary physical literacy definitions. Overall, the PLAYself demonstrated robust psychometric properties, and is recommended for researchers and practitioners who are interested in assessing self-reported physical literacy. Novelty: The PLAYself is a self-reported measure of physical literacy This study validates the measure using the Rasch model and classical test theory The PLAYself was found to have strong psychometric properties.

A Cross-Country Network Analysis of Adolescent Resilience.

PURPOSE: In situations of adversity, young people draw on individual, relational, and contextual (community and cultural) resources to foster their resilience. Recent literature defines resilience as a capacity that is underpinned by a network of interrelated resources. Although empirical studies show evidence of the value of a network approach, little is known regarding how different country contexts influence which resources are most critical within a resource network and how resources interact for adolescent resilience. METHODS: Network analysis was conducted with data from studies that had used the Child and Youth Resilience Measure. Regularized partial correlation networks of 17 resources were estimated for 14 countries (Botswana, Canada, China, Colombia, Equatorial Guinea, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, New Zealand, the Philippines, Romania, South Africa, and Syrian refugees living in Jordan). The sample size was 18,914 (mean age = 15.70 years, 48.8% female). RESULTS: We observed mostly positive associations between the resources of interest. The salience and strength of associations between resources varied by country. The most central resource across countries was having supportive caregivers during stressful times because this resource had the most and strongest positive associations with other resources. CONCLUSIONS: This study gives first empirical evidence from multiple countries that an interplay of social-ecological resources (such as individual skills, peer, caregiver and community support, and educational aspirations and opportunities) matter for adolescent resilience. Across countries, caregiver support appears to be most central for adolescent resilience. Future resilience interventions might apply this network approach to identify important, contextually relevant resources that likely foster additional resources.

Social anxiety in young people: A prevalence study in seven countries.

Social anxiety is a fast-growing phenomenon which is thought to disproportionately affect young people. In this study, we explore the prevalence of social anxiety around the world using a self-report survey of 6,825 individuals (male = 3,342, female = 3,428, other = 55), aged 16-29 years (M = 22.84, SD = 3.97), from seven countries selected for their cultural and economic diversity: Brazil, China, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, US, and Vietnam. The respondents completed the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS). The global prevalence of social anxiety was found to be significantly higher than previously reported, with more than 1 in 3 (36%) respondents meeting the threshold criteria for having Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). Prevalence and severity of social anxiety symptoms did not differ between sexes but varied as a function of age, country, work status, level of education, and whether an individual lived in an urban or rural location. Additionally, 1 in 6 (18%) perceived themselves as not having social anxiety, yet still met or exceeded the threshold for SAD. The data indicate that social anxiety is a concern for young adults around the world, many of whom do not recognise the difficulties they may experience. A large number of young people may be experiencing substantial disruptions in functioning and well-being which may be ameliorable with appropriate education and intervention.

Researching Multisystemic Resilience: A Sample Methodology.

In contexts of exposure to atypical stress or adversity, individual and collective resilience refers to the process of sustaining wellbeing by leveraging biological, psychological, social and environmental protective and promotive factors and processes (PPFPs). This multisystemic understanding of resilience is generating significant interest but has been difficult to operationalize in psychological research where studies tend to address only one or two systems at a time, often with a primary focus on individual coping strategies. We show how multiple systems implicated in human resilience can be researched in the same study using a longitudinal, six-phase transformative sequential mixed methods study of 14- to 24-year-olds and their elders in two communities dependent on oil and gas industries (Drayton Valley, Canada, and Secunda/eMbalenhle, South Africa). Data collection occurred over a 5-year period, and included: (1) community engagement and the identification of youth health and well-being priorities; (2) participatory youth-centric qualitative research using one-on-one semi-structured interviews and arts-based methods; (3) survey of 500 youth at three time points to assess psychosocial health indicators and outcomes; (4) collection of hair samples to assess stress biomarkers (cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone-DHEA) over time; (5) youth-led ecological data collection and assessment of historical socio-economic development data; and (6) community resource mapping with community elders. Analyzing data from these multiple systems will allow us to understand the interrelationship and impact of PPFPs within and across systems. To date, we have undertaken thematic and narrative qualitative analyses, and descriptive analyses of the preliminary ecological and survey data. As we proceed, we will combine these and grounded theory approaches with innovative techniques such as latent transition analysis and network analysis, as well as modeling of economic conditions and spatial analysis of human geographies to understand patterns of PPFPs and their inter-relationships. By analyzing the complexity of data collected across systems (including cultural contexts) we are demonstrating the possibility of conducting multisystemic resilience research which expands the way psychological research accounts for positive development under stress in different contexts. This comprehensive examination of resilience may offer an example of how the study of resilience can inform socially and contextually relevant interventions and policies.

Social-Ecological Resilience Moderates the Effectiveness of Avoidant Coping in Children Exposed to Adversity: An Exploratory Study in Lithuania.

BACKGROUND: Against the high prevalence of adverse childhood experiences in Lithuania, the government testified a lack of effective ways to address the problem. A crucial endeavor for intervention planners is to identify the risk and protective factors whose interaction may lead at risk children to achieve greater levels of functioning. Internal qualities and external resources can act independently or interactively to reduce the damaging effects of adversities, and to enhance resilience process. In particular, both coping strategies and social resources have been shown to have a consistent influence on trauma-related outcomes. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the potential interaction of coping strategies with external resources in predicting trauma-related outcomes in children exposed to adversities. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: A sample of 372 Lithuanian children (mean age = 13.03; range: 7-17) with a history of traumatic experiences has been involved. METHODS: The Child and Youth Resilience Measure-Revised (CYRM-R), the Children Coping Strategy Checklist (CCSC), and the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC) have been administered to participants. A moderation analysis was performed to test whether social-ecological resilience moderate the relationship between each coping strategy and trauma-related outcomes. Results: When controlling for sex, age, other coping strategies, and social-ecological resilience, only active coping was found to significantly predict each of the trauma-related symptoms. Furthermore, social-ecological resilience has a negatively moderating effect on the relationship between avoidant coping strategies and depression. CONCLUSION: MHPSS professionals who design and implement interventions to enhance the likelihood of resilience among vulnerable children, should take in considerations the multiple interaction between social-ecological resilience and avoidant coping strategies in the children adjustment.

Adverse childhood experiences: Assessing the impact on physical and psychosocial health in adulthood and the mitigating role of resilience.

BACKGROUND: More than 2000 studies demonstrate adverse childhood experiences ACEs are universal and that experiencing multiple ACEs increases risk for developing physical and psychosocial health problems in adulthood. A challenge faced by clinicians is identifying those most at risk. Recent evidence suggests socio-ecological resilience may mitigate the consequences ACEs. We hypothesize that integrated assessment of ACEs and resilience might improve identification of those at highest risk. OBJECTIVES: We examined ACEs among adults attending a rural family practice clinic and explored associations between ACE, socio-ecological resilience and health. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey measured ACEs, resilience, and health in adult patients attending a collaborative family health care centre in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada. Correlation analyses were used to determine associations between the measures. The impact of socio-economic status, level of education and gender was considered. RESULTS: Two hundred and twenty-six persons participated in this study. Approximately 73 % of participants had experienced at least one ACEs and 31 % experienced 4 or more. Overall with increasing numbers of ACEs prevalence of health problems increased. However, individuals with high resilience scores had lower prevalence of health problems. Regression analyses indicated that the number of ACEs were slightly more important predictor of health issues than level of resilience, though both were important. Social economic status, education level and gender were not significant predictors of the impact of ACEs on person's health. CONCLUSION: The results suggest integrated assessment for resilience and ACEs may facilitate identification of those at higher risk and in need of preventative intervention.

Staying "just normal": preservation strategies in prosthesis use.

PURPOSE: Research on prosthesis use is largely focused on understanding how persons manage the loss of a limb and begin their prosthesis use. We sought to elaborate an important aspect of a common concern of prosthesis users as they live day to day with their artificial limbs; specifically, the nature and management of threats that have implications for staying "just normal". METHODS: Grounded Theory methodology was employed to collect and analyse data from 24 interviewees, 17 weblogs, 17 autobiographies, and posts from four internet discussion forums. RESULTS: Individuals that use prostheses are faced with a number of challenges and manage these through preservation strategies that ensure they stay "just normal". These acts of preserving include "black-spotting", "protective avoidance", "vigilant risk-reducing", "fail-safing", "conserving" and "sufficing" through "playing it safe" and "resisting the recommended". CONCLUSION: Prosthesis users manage a range of threats that are related to the limitations of prostheses. Knowledge of these issues and how they may be resolved can empower and support individuals coming to prosthesis use as well as ongoing users. The findings of this study also have implications for developing the consultation experience through discussing applicable threats and strategies for managing these. Implications for Rehabilitation Specific threats faced by prosthesis users along with the varied ways that these are resolved enable a greater insight into life with a prosthesis. The consultation experience can be enhanced through a discussion of potential threats relevant to the person, their prosthesis, and the way they live or wish to live "just normally" with a prosthesis. Insights into how persons manage threats associated with prosthesis use can help professionals to recognize and suggest strategies that may further enable their clients.

The CYRM-R: A Rasch-Validated Revision of the Child and Youth Resilience Measure.

The Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM) is one of the most popular measures of resilience. In this paper, we investigate the CYRM using Rasch analysis to explore and improve its psychometric properties, leading to a more robust measure of resilience.Cross-sectional data were obtained from a questionnaire administered to n = 408 individuals in Canada aged 11-19 who were participating in the Pathways to Resilience study. Rasch analysis was applied to these data, resulting in the production of a 17-item, 2-subscale CYRM-R, consisting of intra/interpersonal and caregiver resilience subscales. The subscales demonstrated good fit to the Rasch model by satisfying requirements of unidimensionality, good fit statistics and internal reliability, and a lack of item bias and problematic local dependency. The person separation indices also indicated that the subscales had good ability to differentiate between individuals of varying levels of resilience. In sum, the CYRM-R is a 2-subscale, 17-item Rasch-validated measure of resilience with robust psychometric properties. This revised measure is recommended for researchers and practitioners who are interested in measuring resilience across diverse cultures and contexts.