Building Adolescents’ Resilience: Evaluating the Impact of a 20-Week Inner-City Program

Abstract

Adolescence is a critical phase in any individual’s life, marked by rapid growth and profound psychological changes. Adolescents living in inner-city environments face unique challenges, including sedentary lifestyles, academic dysfunction, and socio-emotional disorders due to adverse ecological factors, such as a lack of resources or exposure to violence. In an effort to support them, the current study implemented a 20-week after-school program aimed to enhance their resilience. A total of 134 adolescents from inner-city schools in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, participated in our program (58% male; M age = 11.20, SD = 1.04). To assess the effectiveness of the program, two MANCOVA analyses were performed: one including all participants and a second specifically targeting those with lower resilience scores at baseline. Using the Resiliency Scales for Children & Adolescents (RSCA), our results revealed a significant improvement in participants’ Sense of Relatedness (p < .001), particularly among adolescents with lower resilience scores at baseline. In sum, these findings provide evidence of the program’s effectiveness in enhancing resilience among inner-city adolescents, particularly among those with initial lower levels of resilience.