Some High-risk Adolescents do not Develop Conduct Problems: A Study of Protective Factors

Abstract

Research on the origins of conduct problems such as disruptive, aggressive, and delinquent behaviour has focused mainly on deficits and risk factors. Protective factors have received more attention only recently in the context of resilience research. In the present study cross-sectional and longitudinal (2-year interval) comparisons were made of two groups of 14 to 17-year-olds from residential homes. Both groups have grown up under accumulated stressful life events and circumstances (multiproblem milieu). One group (N=66) has so far shown no serious behavioral and emotional problems (Resilients); the other (N= 80) has developed manifest disorders, particularly in the externalising syndrome. Potential protective factors (intelligence, temperament, self-related cognitions, coping styles, experience with reference persons, social support, social climate, etc.) were recorded with tests, questionnaires, and interviews. Protective factors functioned additively, subtypes could not be differentiated. Findings from the longitudinal survey showed somewhat lower effects in personal resources and were only partially consistent with the cross-sectional comparison. Possible reasons for these discrepancies are discussed, and it is suggested that the construct of resiliency in multi-problem milieus requires a dynamic, development and context-related interpretation.