Resiliency as it relates to development.

(This blog was taken from an assignment I did in January 2022 in my Human Development & Growth class. The assignment was to research a topic related to physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development in infancy and toddlerhood.)

The Study

The topic I chose was resilience. After reading this article I would argue that resilience is the result of physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development and environment. The question this research sought to answer was “What are practitioner perspectives regarding the role of caregivers in the development of resilience following child maltreatment?” (Beaukolais, et al., 2020, p. 298). This study applied a cross-sectional, qualitative design and took several precautions to eliminate any biases from practitioners (Beaukolais, et al., 2020, p. 298).

Resilience

There is currently no consistent definition of resilience but it is theorized in three ways: the intrinsic ability to bounce back from adversity, the ability to be resourceful to achieve positive outcomes, and achieving positive functioning or outcome following maltreatment (Beaukolais, et al., 2020, p. 296). One common thread in defining resilience is in the context of the development of the youth in question, meaning the definition can change case by case (Beaukolais, et al., 2020, p. 296). Bessel Van Der Kolk states that childhood maltreatment is an epidemic and the largest health problem (Van Der  Kolk, 2014, p. 150). The ability to develop resilience is influenced by relational factors, involvement at the community level, self-regulation, problem-solving, motivation, self-esteem, and adaptive functioning, just to name a few (Beaukolais, et al., 2020, p. 296). 

The Caregiver Influence

This study focuses on caregiver influence, defined as inclusive as possible, including biological and adoptive parents, foster families, guardianship, or any type of kinship placement (Beaukolais,  et al., 2020, p. 296). I would argue you could add, coaches, teachers, and religious leaders to the list as well. These practitioners examined the role of the caregiver from an ecological-transactional theory and attachment theory (Beaukolais, et al., 2020, p. 297). What was found was caregivers can influence resilience positively or negatively through parenting behavior, caregiver-child relationship, and caregiver well-being and employment (Beaukolais, et al., 2020, p. 297).  It was also found, and not surprising, that when caregivers are the perpetrator or do nothing to support the child, this severely inhibits the ability to develop resilience (Beaukolais, et al., 2020, p. 305). 

Parenting Behavior.

The results showed that warm parenting and sensitivity is directly correlated to greater “psychiatric resilience” and reduced the risk of adolescent substance use (Beaukolais, et al., 2020, p. 297). Overprotectiveness was associated with decreased resilience (Beaukolais, et al., 2020, p. 297). 

Caregiver-Child Relationship.

Following Bowlby’s research on attachment, a secure parent-child relationship can reduce a maltreated child’s internalizing and externalizing symptomatology, increase self-esteem and promote the development of resilience (Beaukolais, et al., 2020, p. 297). 

Caregiver Well-Being and Employment.

Caregivers that maintained steady employment and took care of their own mental health, established a stable environment where the children could be assured that their needs would be met and they would be well taken care of (Beaukolais, et al., 2020, p. 299). 

Review & Summation

Providing education and empowering caregivers gives caregivers the resources to better support maltreated children (Beaukolais, et al., 2020, p. 302). Additionally, in a situation where the caregiver is not the perpetrator, family involvement can be incredibly healing for a maltreated child (Beaukolais, et al., 2020, p. 303). While this is still a developing field of study, the trends are clear, caregivers have a serious influence on the development of resilience, especially if the perpetrator is the caregiver. I would argue that caregiver influence could be considered a social and environmental factor to development. The research is lacking to say if anyone can be born with resiliency. There are other studies that say resilience is a characteristic that is practiced and developed but it is certainly affected by our environment. 

Beaukolais, B., Wang, X., McCarthy, K., Dillard, R., Pei, F., & Yoon, S. (2020, May 27).   Caregiver Influences on Resilience Development Among Children with   Maltreatment Experience: Practitioner Perspective. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal(38), 295-308.

Van Der Kolk, B. (2014). The   Body Keeps Score: Brain, Mind, and Body In The Healing Of Trauma. New York, New York: Penguin Books.