Resilient Responses to Victimization and Other Trauma: Positive Emotion Regulation and Other Understudied Psychosocial Strengths.

Although many psychosocial strengths have been explored, there remains a need to identify under-appreciated strengths that help people overcome trauma. The objective of this study was to explore the resilience potential of 16 psychosocial strengths-including 4 understudied strengths (positive emotion regulation, self-reliance, relational motivation, and group connectedness)-for helping people overcome trauma. The understudied strengths were identified in previous qualitative work as salient in the southeastern communities where the study took place.

Association between longitudinal patterns of child maltreatment experiences and adolescent substance use.

Background: Although there is a well-established link between child maltreatment and adolescent substance use, it remains unclear if and how longitudinal patterns of maltreatment experiences are associated with substance use in adolescence.

Objective: The purpose of the study was to examine how distinct patterns of longitudinal maltreatment experiences are associated with adolescent substance use.

Participants And Setting: The participants were 899 adolescents from the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN).

Victimization and abuse among children with disabilities: Age adjusted rates in a US national sample.

Background: Research has indicated that children with disabilities are at higher risk for victimization although the literature on this topic is limited.

Objective: We examined rates of assault, sexual victimization, peer-sibling victimization, property crime, maltreatment, and poly-victimization among youth in the United States with and without disabilities. We examined these rates for three age groups (children ages 0-4 years, ages 5-11 years, and ages 12-17 years).

Can resilience change over time? Patterns and transitions in resilience among young children involved with the child welfare system.

This study examined transitions in resilience profiles and the role of caregiver risk and protective factors in resilience transition probabilities over 18 months among children involved with the child welfare system, using latent profile analysis and latent transition analysis. The sample included 486 children (48% female, baseline M  = 3.49).

Exploring strengths, psychological functioning and youth victimization among American Indians and Alaska Natives in four southern states.

Background: Identifying factors that support healthy psychological functioning after experiencing violence or other adversities in youth can lead to better prevention and intervention efforts. This is particularly important among communities with disproportionately high rates of adversity resulting from legacies of social and political injustices, such as American Indian and Alaska Native populations.

Methods: Data were pooled from four studies in the southern U.

Polyvictimization, polystrengths, and their contribution to subjective well-being and posttraumatic growth.

Objective: The negative biopsychosocial outcomes associated with exposure to victimization are well-known, however, limited research has examined the protective factors that can enhance well-being and growth following polyvictimization from in-person and digital sources. This study examines the contribution of adversities and a range of psychological and social strengths on perceptions of subjective well-being and posttraumatic growth (PTG).

Method: A sample of 478 individuals aged 12-75 (57.

A Qualitative Exploration of Institutional Betrayals in Rural Communities: An Emerging Typology.

To explore individuals' personal narratives of perceived betrayals and injustices committed by institutions, their representatives, or other authority figures and discern in what spheres of life they commonly manifest. 157 adults from largely rural, low-income communities in southern Appalachia participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews that asked them to describe key points in their life experiences, including high points, low points, and turning points. These were reviewed for episodes of institutional betrayals.

Health-Related Quality of Life among American Indian and Alaska Native People: Exploring Associations with Adversities and Psychosocial Strengths.

Identifying psychosocial strengths that support physical health can lead to better pathways to prevention and intervention. Relying on the resilience portfolio model as a conceptual framework, this study explores strengths in three domains (regulation, meaning making, and interpersonal) to identify promising protective factors to support physical health-related quality of life (P-HRQOL), controlling for prior exposure to adversity, age, and gender. This study uses data from four resilience portfolio model studies collected in the southern United States, combined to increase the number of people who identified as American Indian/Alaska Native.

"That Was the Happiest Time of My Life": Understanding Childhood Eco-Connections in Appalachian Communities.

The goal of this study was to explore facets of childhood eco-connections, using retrospective qualitative data from adults. One hundred and forty-five adults from predominantly rural and small-town communities in southern Appalachia (71.7% female), average age 36.

The Long-Term Effects of Early Childhood Resilience Profiles on School Outcomes among Children in the Child Welfare System.

This study aimed to examine the association between early childhood resilience profiles and later school outcomes (academic achievement and school involvement) among children in the U.S. child welfare system.

Resilience After Trauma in Kosovo and Southeastern Europe: A Scoping Review.

Most people who experience trauma want to thrive and often find paths to well-being and healthy functioning. This scoping review explores the existing evidence on adversity and resilience in southeastern European countries, focusing on Kosovo. There is a lack of research on trauma and resilience in cultures outside the US and Western Europe.

Early childhood maltreatment and profiles of resilience among child welfare-involved children.

Given the high burden of child maltreatment, there is an urgent need to know more about resilient functioning among those who have experienced maltreatment. The aims of the study were to: 1) identify distinct profiles of resilience across cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and social domains in young children involved in the child welfare system; and 2) examine maltreatment characteristics and family protective factors in relation to the identified resilience profiles. A secondary analysis was conducted using data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW-II).

A dual-factor model of posttraumatic responses: Which is better, high posttraumatic growth or low symptoms?

Objective: Experiencing traumatic events may invoke posttraumatic symptoms (PTS) or growth (PTG). Using a dual-factor approach inspired by the dual-factor model of mental health, we explore the intersections of posttraumatic symptoms and growth with 21 strengths and indicators of psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being.

Method: A survey completed by 1,966 participants who had experienced at least one prior victimization (average age 29.

Profiles of Resilience among Children Exposed to Non-Maltreatment Adverse Childhood Experiences.

Considering the high prevalence and negative consequences of non-maltreatment adverse childhood experiences (NM-ACEs), it is critical to understand their impacts on the resilient functioning of young children. This study sought to examine heterogeneity in resilience among first-grade children who were exposed to NM-ACEs during kindergarten and explore demographic and adversity characteristics that distinguish between resilience profiles. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted on 4929 children drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten (ECLS-K).

Next Steps in Untangling the Web of Violence: A Research Agenda.

In this commentary, we outline four key trends in violence and trauma research and describe needed research to advance our ability to understand, prevent, and respond these problems. The trends are the move toward evidence-based policy, the recognition of the importance of trauma dosage, the shift to strengths-based approaches, and increased attention to race, gender, and other personality and community characteristics regarding health disparities and culturally appropriate interventions. For each trend, we have identified needed research areas, taking care to identify low-resource and high-resource studies that can help us reduce the burden of trauma.

The Association of Different Cyber-Victimization Types With Current Psychological and Health Status in Southern Appalachian Communities.

Research on cyber-victimization has primarily focused on cyberbullying conducted in urban and suburban (metropolitan) settings. We explore a range of cyber-victimizations, including financially motivated offenses and cyberbullying, and their associations with current psychological and health status in a nonmetropolitan sample from southern Appalachia. The forms of cyber-victimization were drawn from focus groups and interviews, and then self-report data on 14 types of cyber-victimization were collected from 478 individuals (57.

Identifying Women's Strengths for Promoting Resilience After Experiencing Intimate Partner Violence.

Guided by the Resilience Portfolio Model, this study examined strengths associated with well-being and post-traumatic growth (PTG) among women who had experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). Participants were 109 Spanish women who were receiving specialized psychological services for IPV. They completed a survey on multiple indicators of strengths, subjective well-being, and PTG.

Applying the dual factor model of mental health to understanding protective factors in adolescence.

Guided by the dual factor model of mental health and the resilience portfolio model, this study sought to identify protective factors that distinguish adolescents who exhibit different patterns of psychological symptoms and well-being. Participants were 466 twelve- to 17-year-old adolescents recruited from the Appalachian region of 3 Southern states who completed measures of psychological symptomatology, well-being and a range of protective factors. Analyses showed that, after accounting for adversity, the most consistent differences in both individual strengths and external resources were found between the groups who differed in well-being rather than those differing in 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.

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.

Understanding the burden of trauma and victimization among American Indian and Alaska native elders: historical trauma as an element of poly-victimization.

Research on recognition of (ACEs) and has transformed our understanding of violence and trauma exposure. Both concepts point to the importance of understanding the cumulative burden of trauma and the interconnections among forms of violence and abuse. However, there has been little conceptualization about what these two constructs mean for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) individuals, families, and communities, and even less attention to the experiences of AI/AN elders.

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.

Child Neglect and the Broader Context of Child Victimization.

Using a pooled data set of two waves of the National Surveys of Children's Exposure to Violence, this study investigates links between indicators of socioeconomic resources and lifetime exposure to two different forms of child neglect (physical and supervisory), examines how neglect is associated with the risk of other types of victimization, and estimates the impact of neglect on trauma symptoms. Findings suggest that physical neglect is directly linked to economic stressors, while low parental education is consequential for both physical and supervisory neglect. Both types of neglect also were strongly associated with risk of other maltreatment and most other forms of victimization.

Rates of neglect in a national sample: Child and family characteristics and psychological impact.

Background: Childhood neglect is an understudied form of childhood maltreatment despite being the most commonly reported to authorities.

Objective: This study provides national estimates of neglect subtypes, demographic variations in exposure to neglect subtypes, and examines the psychological impact.

Participants And Setting: Pooled data from two representative U.