Resiliency and Middle School-aged Youth

Some young people thrive amid, effectively cope with, and bounce back from adversity and challenging circumstances.  This is known as resiliency.  There has been growing interest among researchers and practitioners over the past 25 or so years in understanding the factors that support resiliency in young people so that we can better support other youth to be healthy and happy and to successfully transition into adulthood (Worsley, 2006; Barankin & Khanlou, 2007). 

A range of risk factors and protective factors have been identified that affect young people’s resiliency and, in turn, their health and development.  These factors are characteristics that increase or decrease the likelihood that a young person will be resilient, engage in risk-taking behaviours, or experience health issues.   Factors that increase the likelihood that a young person will be resilient are known as protective factors.  Whereas factors that decrease the likelihood that a young person will be resilient are known as risk factors. 

Young people are more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviours or experience health issues when the risk factors in their life outweigh the protective factors.  Enhancing the protective factors in young people’s lives increases the likelihood that they will follow positive developmental pathways. The balance between risk factors and protective factors is affected by their number, nature, frequency, duration, and severity as well as the developmental stage in which they occur.

Resiliency supports young people’s health and well-being. It means that they are able to cope with and recover from difficult life situations. Resilience does not mean that young people will always have happy and productive lives or that they will not face difficulties or challenges. Protective factors help to build young people’s resilience.