Resilience in children and adolescents at risk of poverty and with parents suffering from huntington’s disease

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to assess resilience levels in a group of children and adolescents whose parents were afflicted with Huntington’s disease and in a control group of children and adolescents at risk of poverty. We used a sample of 63 children and adolescents (65% girls), between 7 and 18 years with an average age of 12.67 (SD = 3.07). The subjects were administered the questionnaire on resilience in children and adolescents, which consists of three factors: internal protective factor, external protective factor and empathy. The results showed that both groups had higher levels of resilience than the theoretical median. However, the control group performed better on the internal protective factor and the general resilience scale. The data suggests that resilience levels in children and adolescents do not increase when they are overexposed to adverse circumstances.

KEYWORDS:

• Well-being
• adversity
• childhood
• adolescence

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Claudia Idárraga-Cabrera

Claudia Idárraga-Cabrera is a PhD student in clinical psychology at the Universidad del Norte (Colombia) . Her main topics of interest are physical self-concept, affectional bond, and histrionic personality disorder. 

Jorge-Manuel Dueñas

Jorge-Manuel Dueñas is a postdoctoral researcher of developmental and educational psychology at the Department of Psychology at Rovira i Virgili University (Spain). His research broadly focuses on the social vulnerability, prejudice, discrimination and victimization in educational settings associated with the psychosocial and emotional variables.

Mariana Pino

Mariana Pino is a PhD in applied cognitive neuroscience. Her research interests are Health and Wellbeing Studies, Human Development and Social Problems, and Cognitive Neuroscience. She is the leader of the group Brain, Cognition, and Social Processes of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences at the Universidad Autónoma Del Caribe (Colombia)

Marianela Denegri

Marianela Denegri is a full professor at the Universidad de La Frontera (Chile); her research interests are well-being, economic psychology, consumer behaviour, and identity construction in post-modern societies.