Resilient Children: Nurturing Positivity and Well-Being Across Development (Springer Series on Child and Family Studies)

This book examines resilience in childhood, focusing on positive functioning and development, often in the face of everyday difficulties and adversities. It highlights critical areas in which children and their families can demonstrate resilience and attain positive social, emotional, academic, and behavioral life trajectories. The book describes key factors related to enhancing resilience for children, such as positive relationships with adults, positive school environments, and meaningful connections with others. It provides practical guidelines for promoting resilience in youth and reviews the critical nature of resilience across various situations, critical issues, and different developmental periods. It offers guidance on strategies for fostering resilience in children. Key topics featured include: Raising children to have grit and tenacity. Fostering resilience in children at school and within their families. Nurturing resilience in children with chronic illnesses and posttrauma. Resilient Children is an essential resource for researchers, professors, and graduate students as well as clinicians, therapists, and other professionals in developmental, clinical, and school psychology, family studies, public health, and social work as well as all related disciplines, including educational psychology, child and adolescent psychiatry, and pediatrics. Preface 7 Contents 9 About the Editor 11 About the Contributors 12 Chapter 1: Introduction: Ideas to Promote Resilience in Children 17 Introduction 17 References 21 Chapter 2: Resilience in Children and Families 23 Introduction 23 Definitions of Individual-, Family-, and System-Level Resilience 24 Identification of Risk and Resilience Factors 26 Differences in Resilience over Time 26 Resilience Across Domains 28 War and Its Aftermath 30 Parental Bereavement as a Result of AIDS 33 Conclusion 35 References 36 Chapter 3: Resilience in Children Recovering From Trauma 38 Introduction 38 Trauma and Stress 38 Resilience 41 Evidence-Based Interventions 44 Nurturing Positivity and Well-Being in Children 51 Ideas for Promoting Resilience of Families 51 Ideas for Growth in the Field 54 Conclusion 55 References 55 Chapter 4: Grit and Resilience in Children 62 Introduction 62 What Exactly Is Grit? 63 Measuring Grit 63 Grit and Academic Achievement 65 Domain Specific Grit 66 Grit and Psychological Factors 67 Grit and Special Populations 68 Evidence-Based Interventions 69 Nurturing Positivity and Well-Being in Children 71 Promoting Positive Development in Children’s Everyday Lives 71 Ideas for Families 72 Ideas for Schools 72 Ideas for Growth in the Field 73 Conclusion 74 References 75 Chapter 5: Discovering Resilience and Well-being in School Communities 80 Discovering Resilience and Well-being in School Communities 80 Simplifying Resilience Research for Educators 82 Resilience Initiatives in School Communities 86 Looking Inward: Selected Resilience Initiatives for School Communities 87 Promoting Resilience in School Community Systems: National Resilience Resource Center Suggestions 90 NRRC Definition of Resilience 91 NRRC Focus on Principles Behind Resilience for Adult and Student Learning 92 Resources for School Communities 93 NRRC Evaluation Outcomes with Adults 94 My Guide Inside Curriculum Student Outcomes 95 Additional Support Programs for School Communities 95 Conclusion 97 References 98 Chapter 6: Enhancing Resilience for Young Children Facing Toxic Stress 104 Enhancing Resilience for Young Children Facing Toxic Stress 104 Evidence-Based Interventions to Enhance Resilience 107 Strengthening the Parent-Child Relationship 107 Parenting Skills 108 Strengthening Children’s Protective Factors 109 Self-Regulation 109 Initiative 110 Building Adult Caregiver Capacity 110 Suggestions for Nurturing Positivity and Well-Being in Children 112 Promoting Resilience in Children’s Everyday Lives 113 Ideas for Promoting Resilience of Families 114 Ideas for Growth in the Field 115 Conclusion 116 References 117 Chapter 7: Association Between Family Relationships and Childhood Resilience 121 Introduction 121 Mechanisms for Supporting Family Resilience 122 Scope of Our Review 123 Evidence-Based Interventions 123 Programs Supporting Child-Caregiver Relationships 124 Programs Supporting Family Context 125 Programs Provided at a Community Level 126 Suggestions for Nurturing Positivity and Well-Being in Children 128 Promoting Positive Development and Well-Being in Children’s Everyday Lives 128 Promotion of Family Resilience Across Contexts 129 Ideas for Growth in the Field 130 Revisiting Program Design and Evaluation 130 Expansion of Policies to Support Family Resilience 131 Conclusion 132 References 132 Chapter 8: Promotion of Resilience for Children in Low-Income Communities 138 Introduction 138 Evidence-Based Interventions 141 Suggestions for Nurturing Positivity and Well-Being in Children 146 Ideas for Growth in the Field 150 Conclusion 152 References 153 Chapter 9: Interventions to Promote Resilience in Children with Chronic Illnesses 158 Introduction 158 Child Coping 160 Adolescent Coping 162 Caregiver Coping 164 Sibling Coping 165 Interventions for Children Who Have Chronic Illnesses 166 Suggestions for Promoting Resilience in Children with Chronic Illnesses 170 Conclusion 172 References 172 Chapter 10: Promoting Resilience in Early Childhood 177 Introduction 177 Theoretical Frameworks for Understanding Resilience in Early Childhood 178 Resilience Theory 178 Transactional Theories of Human Development 180 Attachment Theory 180 Family Systems Theory 181 Evidence-Based Interventions That Promote Resilience in Early Childhood 182 Examples of Promotion and Prevention Programs 183 Examples of Comprehensive, Tiered, and Multidisciplinary Interventions 188 Suggestions for Nurturing Resilience in Early Childhood 190 Ideas for Growth in the Field 192 Conclusion 194 References 194 Chapter 11: Improving Executive Functioning Contributes to Cognitive Performance and Results in Resilience for Children 203 Introduction 203 Orienting Role of EF or Executive Functions 207 Working Memory and Inhibitory Control 207 Relating EF to Theory of Mind 208 Evidence-Based Treatment Example: The Braingame 209 Other Computerized Interventions 212 Card Games to Improve Executive Functioning 216 Working-Memory Training and Broad Scope Skills: Academic Performance 217 Conclusion 218 References 219 Index 222