The Importance Of Adolescent Resilience

The Article Adolescent Resilience starts off by providing the readers with the definition of Resilience. My definition of resilience is taking the initiative and not allowing past experiences shape you. According to Fergus and Zimmerman, “A key requirement of resilience is the presence of both risks and promotive factors that either help bring about a positive outcome or reduce or avoid a negative outcome” (Fergus & Zimmerman, 2005). The entire concept of resilience is how a person will turn a traumatic experience into something positive and learning from it. In so many cases, you have people who learn from that experience and some who become consumed by it. “The promotive factors that can help youth avoid the negative effects of risks may

“Adolescents growing up in poverty, for example, are at risk of a number of negative outcomes, including poor academic achievement and violent behaviors” (Fergus & Zimmerman, 2005). Growing up I always hear a phrase and this phrase sums up what Fergus and Zimmerman said. The phrase is “product of your environment,” what this means is that if you grow up with little to no money you will find ways to get it. Most kids want to grow up and be like the local drug dealer because they see all the nice things they have. They aren’t being monitored closely by their parents so the drug dealers take them under their wing. This is when the adolescent begins to run into trouble with police and once they are in trouble it is hard for them to find guidance to succeed. It is not the same for all adolescent growing up in poverty, some use their living environment as fuel to become successful. Those two examples are perfect ways to describe Resiliency. You can either use it as an excuse or use it as motivation, it’s all about being stronger than the situation you are. While all this introduces Resilience, research has been done to give you a deeper look into the positive and negative effects of

“Researchers have identified three models of resilience compensatory, protective, and challenge that explain how promotive factors operate to alter the trajectory from risk exposure to negative outcome” (Fergus & Zimmerman, 2005). Each model is important to understanding different aspects of Resiliency. The first model introduced is the compensatory model. “A compensatory model is defined when a promotive factor counteracts or operates in an opposite direction of a risk factor” (Fergus & Zimmerman, 2005). In the compensatory model because someone is in a poor living situation it can cause a negative effect on their lives. The living situation can also give them a higher risk of committing a crime or act of violence. For me growing up I had a lot of positive influences and it made me who I am today. Without proper guidance, there is no telling where I would have been. My role models made sure that I was doing the right things, but also let me learn on my own