We explore family resilience and family dynamic processes that are linked with community support within the context of Maltese communities. We ask whether community support impacts resilience and post-traumatic growth within families facing trauma. We explore pathways of community support that these families seek. The study focuses on individuals’ experiences and perceptions of resilience within the family context, rather than examining family resilience as a collective process. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 8 adults, whose immediate family faced trauma. We draw on Garmezy’s theory of resilience (1991a, 1991b, 1992, 1993) to analyse the interplay between personal, familial, and communitarian support mechanisms to understand how families navigate and adapt to significant challenges. The findings indicate that family members were able to maintain effective personal and family functioning, as they prioritised mutual care during prolonged periods of adversity. Community support was not only useful as a coping mechanism for the whole family, but functioned as an important pathway for family members to become resilient. Moving away temporarily from community support was also a result of family resilience. The study indicates that families hold the capacity for adaptation in the face of adversity, and that resilience and post-traumatic growth are characterised by flexible family roles, open communication, and shared problem-solving. We highlight the importance of social networks and community support in bolstering family stability. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of the factors that facilitate family resilience in the face of ongoing challenges, offering recommendations for community work practice and policy development within the Maltese context.
Many Latine adolescents in the United States demonstrate resilience despite facing greater risk of exposure to trauma (Galvan La Barrie, 2024) and psychopathology (Pumariega et al., 2022) than their peers. Research on resilience has focused primarily on identifying protective factors at the individual and family levels, and consequently less is known about the impact of broader community systems, such as schools. Schools offer an important opportunity to provide widespread support for adolescents and offset health disparities for Latine youth. This study sought to examine the unique contribution of school-level factors in predicting indicators of resilience (mental health problems, prosocial behaviors, and self-esteem) above and beyond individual and family factors. The present study included 94 Latine adolescents and their parents. Findings revealed that school engagement and school belongingness accounted for significant unique variance in adolescents’ mental health problems, prosocial behavior, and self-esteem after accounting for individual and family protective factors. These findings suggested that schools can be an important context for fostering resilience in Latine youth. School engagement and school belongingness predicted resilience above and beyond individual- and family-level factors after controlling for trauma exposure. Ethnic identity and parental warmth also predicted aspects of resilience after controlling for trauma exposure.
Single-parent families often face cumulative social and economic vulnerabilities that can influence parenting and increase the use of harsh or violent disciplinary strategies. Parenting programs have the potential to strengthen positive parenting practices and prevent violence against children. However, little is known about the effectiveness of parenting programs implemented with single-parent families. The present systematic review aimed to analyze empirical studies on single parents' participation in group-based parenting programs delivered in person, online, or in hybrid formats, and the effects of these programs on parenting and children's behavioral outcomes. A systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, PsycArticles, Lilacs, and SciELO databases was conducted to identify studies of group-based parenting programs delivered to single parents. In this systematic review, 14 studies met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The 14 included studies evaluated 11 parenting programs. The majority of studies (93
Positive childhood experiences (PCEs) are associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms in adolescents, even in the context of maltreatment. However, item-level associations between specific PCEs and individual depressive symptoms remain underexplored. This cross-sectional network study collected self-reported data on PCEs, depressive symptoms, and maltreatment through the Benevolent Childhood Experiences scale, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form, respectively. Network analysis was conducted with the Ising model to identify central and bridge nodes. Network Comparison Test was applied to compare networks between adolescents with and without maltreatment. Among the 6670 adolescents included, 52.4
Self-harm is a serious public health concern predominantly affecting adolescents and young adults of all genders around the world. While the detrimental effects of self-harm on health and well-being are well documented, less is known about the protective factors and processes that support individuals’ resilience and recovery. This phenomenological inquiry shifts the focus from a pathologizing discourse to a strength’s framework by studying the lived experiences of resilience to self-harm. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data in two countries: Canada and India. Thirteen young adults (seven Canadian, five Indian and one Indo-Canadian) in the age range of 18–26 shared their experiences. Interviews were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006, 2023) guidelines for thematic analysis. Findings present a nuanced understanding of the psychological, social, and cultural aspects of developing resilience to self-harm through three interconnected and non-linear processes: sensing, connecting, and responding. Results suggest cultural heterogeneity in patterns of self-harm and processes of recovery, such as the role of stigma, misconceptions and attitudes towards self-harm that are crucial in building resilience in different cultures. By identifying general as well as context- and culture-specific resources, implications address improving services for young adults who have experiences with self-harm, to foster their long-term health and well-being.
