Bungy Jumping Through Life: What Young People Say Promotes Well-Being and Resilience

Abstract

In considering the applicability of protective factors that have been found in research based largely on Northern American populations to Australian young people, a series of focus groups were established to find out what young people think promotes resilience and well-being. A total of 1447 Year 11 students in Victoria completed a questionnaire which focused on beliefs regarding the factors that promote resilience and well-being. Five main factors were indicated by young people to promote resilience. These were peer connectedness (having good friends), family connectedness (feeling that you are loved by family), feeling that your family respects your decisions, school connectedness (believing that you fit in at school and having good teachers). The current study outlines the factors considered important to the young participants in this study and discusses the implications of these findings for student welfare and the development of programs in schools and communities.