Childhood Maltreatment, Risk and Resilience

The design and psychometric evaluation of the Adolescents' Resilience in Disaster Tool (ARDT-Q37): A mixed method study

Adolescent resilience after a disaster has been shown to be a protective factor against loss, trauma, and psychological distress. Its importance for successful disaster recovery is widely accepted by disaster risk management professionals, yet very few tools are available to assess adolescent resilience during an emergency or after a natural disaster has occurred. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a questionnaire designed to measure adolescents' resilience before, during or after a natural disaster. This mixed method study was carried out in three phases involving item generation, systematic review (phase one), qualitative analysis (phase two) and the reduction of items (phase three). The psychometric evaluation of the Adolescents' Resilience in Disaster Tool (ARDT) was conducted using the data from 599 high school students North of Iran (Golestan Province). The initial item pool included 80 items that were reduced to 37 after assessment of validity (face, content and structure) and reliability. Exploratory Factor Analysis found five factors that affect adolescents' resilience which included helping, trusting in God and hopefulness, adaptability, self-confidence and social support. The internal consistency was desirable (α = .86 and ICC = .91; 95% CI: .849 to .948). The psychometric support for the 37-item version of the ARDT in this study indicates strong support for the ARDT-Q37 as a rapid assessment tool to evaluate resilience in adolescents aged 12–18 years old. Identifying the status of adolescents’ resilience and determining their level of need for intervention during and after a natural disaster is critical for long- and short-term outcomes. Implications for policy makers and professionals involved in the preparedness, response and recovery from natural disasters are discussed.

Characteristics and components of children's and adolescents' resilience in disasters in Iran: a qualitative study

Children and adolescents are vulnerable in times of disaster and they will suffer more severely if neglected. The concept of resilience differs between cultures, and identifying the components of resilience is essential for decision making and interventions in disasters such as risk management. This study aimed to identify the components of children's resilience in disasters in Iran. This qualitative study took a content-analysis approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 23 people and three group meetings. Conventional content analysis was used for data analysis. MAXQDA 10 software was used for classification. The resilience components derived from the data were categorized into two main categories, internal and external, and eight subcategories covering psychological, emotional, cognitive, mental, spiritual, physical, social, and behavioral factors. The results also showed that the nature of resilience is both intrinsic and extrinsic. Recognizing the dimensions of children's resilience in disasters can lead to a new perspective for authorities and planners in disaster and emergency situations. The results of this study could be used by planners and policymakers to develop interventions to enhance children's and adolescents' resilience at the time of disasters, which is also underlined and highlighted by international documents.

Exploring child maltreatment and its relationship to alcohol and cannabis use in selected Latin American and Caribbean countries

OBJECTIVES

Research from developed countries shows that child maltreatment increases the risk for substance use and problems. However, little evidence on this relationship is available from developing countries, and recognition of this relationship may have important implications for substance demand reduction strategies, including efforts to prevent and treat substance use and related problems. Latin America and the Caribbean is a rich and diverse region of the world with a large range of social and cultural influences. A working group constituted by the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission and the Center for Addiction and Mental Health in June, 2010 identified research on this relationship as a priority area for a multinational research partnership.

METHODS

This paper examines the association between self-reported child maltreatment and use in the past 12 months of alcohol and cannabis in 2294 university students in seven participating universities in six participating countries: Colombia, El Salvador, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama and Uruguay. The research also considers the possible impact of religiosity and minimal psychological distress as factors contributing to resiliency in these samples.

RESULTS

The results showed that experience of maltreatment was associated with increased use of alcohol and cannabis. However, the effects differed depending on the type of maltreatment experienced. Higher levels of religiosity were consistently associated with lower levels of alcohol and cannabis use, but we found no evidence of an impact of minimal psychological distress on these measures.

CONCLUSIONS

This preliminary study shows that the experience of maltreatment may increase the risk of alcohol and cannabis use among university students in Latin American and Caribbean countries, but that higher levels of religiosity may reduce that risk. More work to determine the nature and significance of these relationships is needed.