Patterns of risk and resilience among urban youth: An ecological perspective.

摘要

Knowledge of the risk and protective factors associated with adolescent problem behaviors such as delinquency, drug use, and school failure has increased significantly in recent years. Most evidence about risk and protection during adolescence has been based on study samples of general youth populations or on young people referred to juvenile justice or other public systems of care. Relatively little is known about the specific patterns of risk and protection among children and adolescents raised in conditions of urban poverty. Young people living in poverty are often characterized by similarities in exposure to antisocial behavior, crime, violence, educational failure, and limited economic opportunities. Such general characterizations may mask important individual differences and fail to adequately describe underlying patterns of risk and resilience that are present in the lives of children and youth who live in poverty. To better understand such patterns, this study examined risk and protective factors among a sample of 157 youth between 6 th and 8th grade who resided in three urban public housing developments. The relationship between identified patterns of risk and protection and educational and behavioral outcomes was also assessed. Indicators of risk and protection were based on an ecological and multisystems perspective and included measures of individual characteristics, interpersonal and social traits, family conditions, microsystem transactions, and neighborhood influences. K-means clustering techniques revealed four cluster profiles characterized by unique patterns of risk and protection. Clusters were identified as Protected (n = 58), Coping ( n = 42), High Risk (n = 32), and Disconnected (n = 21) based on distinctions in risk and protective factors and outcome measures. External validation indicated that cluster membership was significantly related to antisocial conduct, drug use, and academic grades. Results suggest that there are important differences in patterns of risk and protection among young people who live in poverty and that these differences are evident in educational and behavioral outcomes. Findings also point to characteristics that appear to sustain resilient development in the presence of multi-layered risk. Implications of the study findings for the design and development of prevention strategies aimed at youth living in poverty are noted.