Running Head: SOCIAL AND FAMILY DEVELOPMENT ARTICLE REVIEW

Social and Family Development Article Review

EDPS 650
Alison Lessard
University of Calgary

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Predictors of Resilience in Abused and Neglected Children Grown-up: The Role of Individual
and Neighborhood Characteristics
There have been numerous studies related to the long-term consequences of childhood
maltreatment, trauma, neglect, and abuse. As a result, resilience has emerged as an important
facet of child development, as many attempt to answer the question what external factors and
character traits increase resilience and the ability to overcome tragic circumstances. Dumont,
Widom, and Czaja (2007) identified that resilience has many definitions and there have been a
variety of methods and samples used to examine related factors. This article review will
summarize the data and illustrate key findings of a study of resilience by Dumont et al. (2007),
which examined individuals with a documented history of physical and sexual abuse and/or
neglect throughout adolescence and young adulthood.
Dumont et al. (2007) identified the purpose of their research was to examine how familial
and neighborhood resources influence the stability of resilience of individuals who have
experienced neglect and physical and/or sexual abuse. Their study focused upon individuals who
had suffered neglect or abuse in childhood who were then studied in adolescence and again in
young adulthood. Dumont and colleagues (2007) identified four main purposes of their study: 1)
to examine individual and family factors of maltreated children in order to identify any possible
factors that resulted in increased resilience during adolescence and adulthood; 2) to investigate
whether neighborhood resources played a role in resilience; 3) to study whether there was a
change in resilience from adolescence to young adulthood, and; 4) to identify characteristics that
may be related to the stability or change in resilience from adolescence to young adulthood.
Dumont et al. (2007) referenced several studies that had previously examined predictors of

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resilience, contextual factors such as socio-economic status and neighborhood residence, as well
as characteristics of the individual.
The sample of individuals in this study (N=676) was restricted to males and females who
had court-substantiated documented cases of abuse and neglect. The abuse and neglect cases
were also isolated to reported incidents when the children were less than 11 years old. All cases
were from 1967 to 1971 in a mid western metropolitan area of the United States. The researchers
also cross-referenced juvenile and criminal arrest records of the same area. After identifying
individuals who met criteria for the study, Dumont et al. (2007) traced and interviewed
participants from 1989 to 1995 (an average of 22 years after childhood maltreatment). Multiple
domains of functioning were assessed including cognitive, emotional, psychiatric, social, and
interpersonal skills. The interviewers and the participants were both blind to the purposes of the
study. Participants were informed they had been selected as part of a study of people who had
grown up during the late 1960s to early 1970s. Of the 676 participants, 50.4% were female and
61.5 % were Caucasian. The mean age was 29.1 years, highest grade completed was 11.05, with
an average socio-economic status in the lower range with 41% employed in unskilled
occupations (Dumont et al. 2001).
Eight domains of functioning were assessed and individuals were determined to either be
successful or unsuccessful in relation to each domain. Young adults were assessed on all eight
areas and adolescents on the first five. The domains included education, psychiatric disorder,
substance abuse, arrest record, self-report of violence, employment, homelessness, and social
activity. An individuals overall resiliency was determined if they had been successful in four
out of five as juveniles, and six out of eight as young adults. In addition, predictors of resilience

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were also assessed including cognitive ability, stable living situation, neighborhood advantage,
stressful life events, and a supportive partner or spouse (Dumont et al. 2007).
This longitudinal study resulted in numerous findings related to the resiliency of
adolescents and young adults who were maltreated as children. Dumont et al. (2007) discovered
almost half of individuals who were maltreated were resilient as adolescents, however this
percentage dropped to about 30% in young adulthood. This study also found that African
American women were more resilient in adolescence than White, non-Hispanic men. Another
finding was a stable living environment (with both parents or long term foster care) had a
significant impact upon resilience, as individuals who had experienced abuse or neglect from
these environments were almost three times more likely to be resilient in adolescence. The
authors also identified that those individuals who had supports in place at an early age were more
likely to demonstrate resilience as they grew older. Residing with supportive spouses or partners
almost doubled the likelihood of resilience. Finally, the study results indicated simply growing
up in an advantaged neighborhood alone did not influence resilience unless other characteristics
such as average to above average cognitive ability and stability also co-existed. Overall, Dumont
and colleagues (2007) stated their results clearly showed some individuals who were abused or
neglected as children had the capacity to be resilient.
While Dumont et al.s (2007) study was very comprehensive, there are some areas of
concern that should be noted. As this was a blind study, the participants were unaware of the
purpose of their participation. Perhaps additional information could have been gleaned either by
interview or questionnaire, related to the nature of their maltreatment and their own personal
response to such unfortunate adversity. Also the severity and duration of abuse and neglect were
not documented, and the study also assumed that the effects of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and

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neglect would be similar across all individuals. Another concern is all of the cases in this study
had been recognized legally, however this restricts information regarding victims of
maltreatment that were not dealt with in the courts. One could assume that children whose abuse
or neglect had been recognized legally may have been provided with external supports such as
counseling or removal from the abusive situation. This was a double-blind study and the
participants were unaware why they were interviewed. A more open study could have provided
additional information related to factors that impacted the participants personal levels of
resilience.
Despite the above limitations, Dumont et al. (2007) designed a longitudinal study that
included a large sample of both males and females. A wide range of factors were carefully
measured related to participants who had been impacted by maltreatment (abuse or neglect), that
are known to have significant and long lasting effects. This study also provided
recommendations for future study of resilience such as separating the factors that contribute to
resilience and those that are results of resilience (Dumont et al., 2007). Dumont et al. (2007)
identified specific predictors of resilience and recommended future direction for research. Since
the publication of this study, it has been cited by at least 40 other published articles, suggesting
reliability and validity. Finally, the information in this article provides essential information that
could be used to design interventions and supports in order to enhance resilience in general,
specifically for those who have suffered the effects of abuse and neglect.

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References

DuMont, K. A., Widom, C. S., & Czaja, S. J. (2007). Predictors of resilience in

abused and neglected children grown-up: The role of individual and
neighborhood characteristics. Child Abuse & Neglect, 31(3), 255-274.
doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2005.11.015