Resilience in Physically Abused Children: Protective Factors for Aggression

Behavioral Sciences

Megan R. Holmes¹  Susan Yoon¹  Laura A. Voith²  Julia M. Kobulsky¹  Stacey Steigerwald¹ 

[1] Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, 11235 Bellflower Road, Cleveland, OH 44106-7164, USA; E-Mails:;Helen Bader School of Social Welfare, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, 2400 E. Hartford Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53211, USA; E-Mail:

关键词: resilience;    child physical abuse;    aggression;    well-being;    prosocial behavior;    longitudinal;   

DOI  :  10.3390/bs5020176

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Aggression continues to be a serious problem among children, especially those children who have experienced adverse life events such as maltreatment. However, there are many maltreated children who show resilient functioning. This study investigated potential protective factors (i.e., child prosocial skills, child internalizing well-being, and caregiver well-being) that promoted positive adaptation and increased the likelihood of a child engaging in the healthy, normative range of aggressive behavior, despite experiencing physical maltreatment. Logistic regression analyses were conducted using two waves of data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW-I). Children who were physically maltreated were more likely to exhibit clinical levels of aggressive behavior at Time 1 than children who were not physically maltreated. Children’s internalizing well-being, children’s prosocial behavior, and caregivers’ well-being were associated with lower likelihood of clinical levels of aggressive behavior at Time 1. Children’s internalizing well-being and children’s prosocial behavior remained significantly associated with nonclinical aggression 18 months later. These findings highlight the role of protective factors in fostering positive and adaptive behaviors in maltreated children. Interventions focusing on preventing early aggression and reinforcing child prosocial skills, child internalizing well-being, and caregiver well-being may be promising in promoting healthy positive behavioral adjustment.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.