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Abstract:
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To determine which of several factors act as moderators and mediators in the promotion of resiliency among maltreated youth, I will utilize data from the NDACAN dataset, Longitudinal Pathways to Resilience in Maltreated Children, consisting of survey instruments, interview, observational, and administrative data on 300 maltreated and non-maltreated 6 to 12 year-olds and their primary caregivers residing in a local inner-city of upstate NY between 1997 and 2000. This particular study will utilize the maltreated group for primary analysis, as well as the non-maltreated group for comparative purposes. Each group constitutes approximately half of the entire sample (150 children).
The dependent variable is the child score on the California Child Q-set, an assessment of personality, cognitive, and social characteristics that yield two-dimensional scores of "ego-resilience" and "ego-control". The two primary explanatory variables analyzed here are included in two broad categories: positive and negative characteristics and/or life experiences, each at the community, social, familial, and individual level.
Maltreatment of every type was found to be detrimental to child resilience, as was the experience of maximum severity maltreatment. Boys were more adversely affected than girls, and the preschool stage was the only developmental stage during which a statistically significant negative effect was detected for maltreatment. Finally, child aggression and withdrawal were associated with lower levels of resilience, while child likeability acted as a protective factor. |