Understanding the mechanisms through which family risk affects adolescent mental health : a model of multisystemic resilience in context

dc.contributor.authorCameranesi, Margherita
dc.contributor.authorTheron, Linda C.
dc.contributor.authorHoltge, Jan
dc.contributor.authorJefferies, Philip
dc.contributor.authorUngar, Michael
dc.contributor.emaillinda.theron@up.ac.zaen_US
dc.date.accessioned2022-07-18T04:46:17Z
dc.date.available2022-07-18T04:46:17Z
dc.date.issued2022-04-12
dc.description.abstractThere is substantial evidence that exposure to family adversity significantly and negatively impacts positive adolescent development by placing adolescents at increased risk of experiencing developmental difficulties, including conduct problems. Although the mechanisms responsible for these effects are still largely unknown, a novel line of inquiry in the resilience field conceptualizes positive adaptation, following exposure to atypical adversity, as resulting from complex interactions of systems at multiple ecological levels. The purpose of the present analysis was to apply this multisystemic resilience framework to the study of positive adaptation following exposure to family adversity in a sample of Canadian adolescents (n = 230; mean age 16.16, SD = 1.38) and South African adolescents (n = 421; mean age = 15.97, SD = 1.19) living in economically volatile communities dependent on the oil and gas industry. Cross-sectional survey data were used to investigate the mechanisms through which family adversity exercises its impact on adolescent conduct problems by accounting for their caregiving, peer, and community resources. Results of two moderated mediation analyses showed that family adversity impacts adolescent externalizing mental health negatively, via disrupted caregiving, when other resources are also considered. For the Canadian adolescents, these negative impacts were protectively moderated by peer support, but not moderated by appreciation for community traditions. In contrast, peer support showed no significant protective effect for the South African sample, while a strong appreciation for community traditions was positively and significantly associated with conduct difficulties. Contextual dynamics (e.g., social unrest) provide a plausible explanation for the discrepant results and bring attention to the importance of theorizing resilience in context.en_US
dc.description.departmentEducational Psychologyen_US
dc.description.librariandm2022en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipCanadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Killam Trusts and Swiss National Science Foundation.en_US
dc.description.urihttps://www.mdpi.com/journal/childrenen_US
dc.identifier.citationCameranesi, M.; Theron, L.; Höltge, J.; Jefferies, P.; Ungar, M. Understanding the Mechanisms through Which Family Risk Affects Adolescent Mental Health: A Model of Multisystemic Resilience in Context. Children 2022, 9, 546. https://doi.org/10.3390/children9040546.en_US
dc.identifier.issn2227-9067 (online)
dc.identifier.otherh10.3390/children9040546
dc.identifier.urihttps://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/86259
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherMDPIen_US
dc.rights© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.en_US
dc.subjectConduct problemsen_US
dc.subjectExternalizing mental healthen_US
dc.subjectFamily adversityen_US
dc.subjectMajority worlden_US
dc.subjectMinority worlden_US
dc.subjectModerated mediationen_US
dc.subjectMultisystemic resilienceen_US
dc.subjectYouthen_US
dc.titleUnderstanding the mechanisms through which family risk affects adolescent mental health : a model of multisystemic resilience in contexten_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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