Supportive family contexts: promoting child well-being and resilience

Abstract

Prevention and intervention programmes for children at risk aim to improve child well-being and resilience. They do so using both direct and indirect strategies, intervening with children but also considering broader contextual factors (such as family dynamics). Children's subjective well-being comprises five main components (physical health, mental health, self-regulation, social competence, and cognitive competence) and is predicted by person, relationship, and contextual factors. Children's resilience, or ability to beat the odds under adverse conditions, is predicted by similar protective factors. Family well-being (FWB) is one of the strongest and most consistent predictors of child well-being and resilience. Aspects of FWB (including adult health and well-being, family self-sufficiency, and family resiliency) have been shown to impact child well-being through positive parent–child interactions. However, risk factors (including poverty and living in geographic locales with limited resources or high levels of neighbourhood violence) can threaten both family and child well-being. Strategies are offered for promoting FWB as a means of supporting resilience and well-being in children at risk for violence, abuse, or neglect.

Keywords:

• well-being
• resilience
• family
• child
• at-risk

Notes on contributor

Lisa A. Newland is a professor of Human Development and Educational Psychology at the University of South Dakota. She teaches courses in child development, research methods, and statistics. Her research interests include prediction of child well-being from ecological factors such as parent-child relationship quality, mother and father involvement, couple relationship quality, and co-parenting.