Resilience in Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Turkish Adolescents: An Ecological Perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of self-esteem as mediator in the relationships between perceived parental acceptance/involvement, perceived peer social support, sense of school belonging and resilience in adolescents attending schools located in low socioeconomic districts. The sample of the study consisted of 1312 high school students (673 female, 639 male) between the ages of 13 to 19 ( M = 15.67, SD = 1.18). Structural equation modeling was conducted to test the hypothesized model. Results showed that perceived parental acceptance/involvement, perceived peer social support, sense of school belonging and self-esteem were positive and significant predictors of resilience. Furthermore, self-esteem partially mediated the association between perceived parental acceptance/involvement, perceived peer social support, sense of school belonging and resilience. The proposed model explained 33% of the variance in resilience. Overall, findings contributed to the understanding of the simultaneous influence of multilevel resources in adolescent resilience.