Pathways to Resilience III: Beyond Nature vs. Nurture

Abstract #309
The Art of Navigating Torrents: A Study of Resilience Dimensions Among Adolescents by Ethic Group
Presenter: Monica Lavoie
Abstract:
How is it that an individual can hold out in front of life’s hardships? Resilience is a concept often used to account for one’s ability to bounce back, overcome, and even navigate torrents. The aim of this study is to document resilience dimensions according to an adolescent population adapted scale (Hjemdal, Friborg, Stiles, Martinussen & Rosenvinge, 2006), and according to the perspective of Euro-Canadians and First Nations. The scale proposed by Hjemdal and his collaborators suggests the five following themes to resilience: personal competences, social competences, structured style, family cohesion, and social resources. Two hundred and thirty adolescents, 143 Euro-Canadians and 87 First Nations, took part in this study and completed a questionnaire. An exploratory factorial analyse reveals divergent results according to the ethnic group. For European descent adolescents, a four factor solution is obtained. Otherwise, among First Nations, resilience is constituted of two dimensions. The challenge of articulating resilience dimensions reflecting cultural specificity is discussed.