Measures of Resilience on Kidsdata.org
Resilience is the ability to rebound from adversity and achieve healthy development and successful learning. It refers to an individual's natural motivation to meet his/her needs for love, belonging, respect, identity, power, mastery, challenge, and meaning. On kidsdata.org, indicators of resilience include:
- Public school students self-reported levels of connectedness to school, such as feeling safe at school, feeling part of the school, and feeling close to people at school
- Parents' perceptions of their children's ability to: handle difficult situations; get along with other children; and be happy and see life in a positive way
- Parent reports of their children's involvement in organized activities and the extent to which parents know their children's friends
- Participation in organized activities, and parent involvement in their children's lives are factors that can foster resilience.
The ability to be happy and view life in a positive way, to handle difficult situations, and to get along with peers, are aspects of resilience. Since these indicators are based on parents' perceptions of their children, they are not comprehensive measures. Nonetheless, they can shed light on aspects of local children's resilience.
Why This Topic Is Important
Resilience in children and youth is associated with healthy development, and with the avoidance of risky behavior such as the abuse of alcohol and other drugs and early sexual activity. Research has identified three key factors that promote resilience in young people, thereby protecting them from risk and helping them succeed:
- Caring relationships: Supportive connections to others who model and support healthy development and well being
- High expectations: Consistent communication of direct and indirect messages that youth can and will succeed
- Opportunities for participation and contribution: Involvement of youth in relevant, engaging, and interesting activities with opportunities to contribute
These three factors meet crucial developmental needs, helping youth develop strengths that benefit them throughout their lives. Research has found that providing the supports and opportunities that promote healthy development leads directly to positive outcomes in both academics and other areas of life.
How Children Are Faring
In a 2006 survey, 45.6% of parents in the Bay Area rated the ability of their children to handle difficult situations as 'good' and another 29.3% rated it as 'excellent'. When asked about the ability of their children to get along with other children, 57.7% of parents in the Bay Area said 'excellent', while 32.7% said it was 'good'. In the same survey, 49.8% described as 'excellent' their children's ability to be happy and see life in a positive way, while 36.5% said it was 'good'. The 2006 survey also showed that 79.4% of parents in the Bay Area said that their children are regularly involved in activities such as music, sports, art classes, or other non-school programs/classes. Additionally, 47.2% of Bay Area parents said that they knew all of their children's friends, while 36.3% said they knew most of them. Levels of connectedness to school vary by grade level, gender, and race/ethnicity across the Bay Area counties and school districts.