Presentation Type
Poster
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Jacqueline Brown
Faculty Mentor’s Department
Psychology
Abstract / Artist's Statement
Research examining adolescents has found that close, healthy relationships with supportive and caring adults can help foster resilience in youth. Resilience, as defined by Ann Masten (2001), is the “phenomena characterized as good outcomes in spite of serious threats to adaptation or development.” Promoting resilience in a school setting can help decrease at-risk behaviors such as truancy, substance use, and suicidal ideation/attempts. Kaleidoscope Connect is a program focusing on establishing social-emotional skills and resilience in youth and specifically targets youth-adult relationships.
This research project examines 28 7th and 8th grade students who participated in the Kaleidoscope Connect program in 2016-2017 in a rural middle school in Western Montana. Two standardized self-report rating scales will be used to examine the levels of resilience (Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents) and problem behavior (Behavioral and Emotional Screening System) in these students. In addition, this study also examined data from the Student Support Card Surveys. One of these surveys asked students to report their number of anchors (relationships with adults) and their proximity to these individuals. Another survey specifically examined the level of support that they received from each of these anchors. The goal of this project is to examine the relationship between the presence of supportive adults in a student’s life and their risk level for problem behaviors. Due to the small sample size, descriptive analyses will be conducted to examine the results.
Supportive and caring relationships with adults helps build resilience in children, with these relationships often occurring in the school setting. This research aims to highlight the importance of building positive youth-adult connections, which is critical due to an increase in at-risk youth and mental health needs during the pandemic.
Category
Social Sciences
Fostering Resilience In Youth Through Positive Youth-Adult Relationships
UC South Ballroom
Research examining adolescents has found that close, healthy relationships with supportive and caring adults can help foster resilience in youth. Resilience, as defined by Ann Masten (2001), is the “phenomena characterized as good outcomes in spite of serious threats to adaptation or development.” Promoting resilience in a school setting can help decrease at-risk behaviors such as truancy, substance use, and suicidal ideation/attempts. Kaleidoscope Connect is a program focusing on establishing social-emotional skills and resilience in youth and specifically targets youth-adult relationships.
This research project examines 28 7th and 8th grade students who participated in the Kaleidoscope Connect program in 2016-2017 in a rural middle school in Western Montana. Two standardized self-report rating scales will be used to examine the levels of resilience (Resiliency Scales for Children and Adolescents) and problem behavior (Behavioral and Emotional Screening System) in these students. In addition, this study also examined data from the Student Support Card Surveys. One of these surveys asked students to report their number of anchors (relationships with adults) and their proximity to these individuals. Another survey specifically examined the level of support that they received from each of these anchors. The goal of this project is to examine the relationship between the presence of supportive adults in a student’s life and their risk level for problem behaviors. Due to the small sample size, descriptive analyses will be conducted to examine the results.
Supportive and caring relationships with adults helps build resilience in children, with these relationships often occurring in the school setting. This research aims to highlight the importance of building positive youth-adult connections, which is critical due to an increase in at-risk youth and mental health needs during the pandemic.