Resilience In Young Adults Research Articles

Abstract 14226: Resilience in Young Adults With CHD: Predictors and Impact on Quality of Life

Introduction: Resilience is the ability to recover after stressful events and is believed to help reduce the long-term adverse effects. The role of resilience as a determinant of neurodevelopmental (ND) outcomes and quality of life (QOL) in young adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) has not been fully delineated. Hypothesis: Higher resilience in young adults with CHD is associated with better QOL and can be predicted by patient factors and ND status in the preschool period. Methods: Prospective evaluation of subjects ≥ 18 years of age enrolled in a study of genetic determinants of ND outcome after repair of CHD at age ≤ 6 months. The subjects had previously undergone a ND evaluation (executive function, attention/impulsivity and social skills) at 4 years of age. For this study, subjects completed the RS-14, a questionnaire that captures the constructs of resilience; and the SF-36, a functional health status questionnaire. Factors associated with resilience were determined using generalized linear (gamma) regression. Results: The RS-14 and SF-36 were completed by 151 subjects (74 male and 77 female, mean age 19.5 ± 1.1 years). The median resilience score of 79 (CI 0.95 = 77, 82) was significantly greater than the young adult population median of 76.0, p = 0.006. Resilience was graded as moderate or higher in 103 subjects (68%). Higher resilience scores were significantly correlated with higher QOL assessed by the SF-36 Mental Component Summary, r = 0.40, p < 0.001. By simple regression, Caucasian race was associated with higher resilience scores, p = 0.03. Prematurity, low birth weight, presence of a genetic anomaly, and severity of CHD were not associated with higher or lower scores, all p > 0.2. No operative management factors were associated with higher or lower scores, all p > 0.28. Better performance for executive function ( p = 0.03) and social skills ( p = 0.02) at the 4-year ND evaluation were associated with higher resilience. Hyperactivity was associated with lower resilience scores, p = 0.02. Conclusions: Many young adults with CHD demonstrate good resilience. Higher resilience is associated with better QOL. Performance on ND testing in the preschool period may identify patients with lower resilience and offer an opportunity for intervention.

Abstract MP25: Diet Quality And Resilience: Examining Age Differences In A Cross-sectional Analysis Of The Well For Life Study

Background: Psychological resilience (resilience), defined as the self-reported ability to bounce back from stress, has been associated with diet quality. Despite the importance of resilience to successful aging, few studies have examined the relationship between resilience and diet quality across different age groups. Objective: To examine the relationship between diet quality and resilience while adjusting for perceived stress, sociodemographic information, and other diet-related health factors within the youngest, middle-aged, and oldest age groups in the Well for Life (WELL) study. Design: Cross-sectional analysis of survey data from the WELL study. A total of 4,309 adults predominantly drawn from the San Francisco Bay Area, completed the WELL survey, which included lifestyle, stress, and resilience domains. The WELL Diet Score, calculated from 12 diet-related items, ranged from 0-120. A higher score indicates better diet quality. Perceived stress was assessed by an adapted version of A Global Measure of Perceived Stress. Resilience was assessed by an adapted version of the Brief Resilience Scale for assessing the Ability to Bounce Back and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Perceived stress and resilience both ranged from 0-10. Higher scores indicate more perceived stress and resilience. All of the above measures were modeled as continuous. Linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between the WELL Diet Score and resilience within the following age tertiles: youngest [18-29], middle-aged [30-49], and oldest [50-64+]. Results: Across all age groups, WELL participants were predominately white females, college-educated, maintained healthy lifestyle practices, and had moderately high levels of perceived stress and resilience. Mean WELL Diet Scores were highest in the oldest group [79.4 out of 120 ± sd:81.6], followed by the middle-aged [72.2 out of 120 ± sd:18.1], and the youngest [63.6 out of 120 ± sd:18.0]. In the fully adjusted model, WELL Diet Scores demonstrated a positive and significant association with resilience within the youngest age group only [β=0.14 ± sd:0.34, p=0.02; (middle-aged) β=0.02 ± sd:0.34, p=0.63; (oldest) β=-0.001 ± sd:0.34, p=0.98]. In the model adjusted for perceived stress and sociodemographics only, diet quality demonstrated a positive and significant association with resilience within all age groups [(youngest) β=0.15 ± sd:0.32, p=0.001; (middle-aged) β=0.12 ± sd:0.35, p=0.001; (oldest) β=0.9 ± sd:0.34, p=0.01]. Conclusions: Diet quality may be positively associated with resilience in young adults. Our findings might warrant further investigation into whether assessing and potentially intervening to improve resilience could help to increase the effectiveness of dietary interventions targeting younger populations.

Positive Psychology of Resilience: How the Big Five Personality Factors Mediate Resilience

Personality can be explained as an array of unique behavioural episodes which can determine a person's adjustments to various situations of life. It influences how individuals approach life in general and how they response in face of adversities. Resilience is closely linked to sustaining efforts when challenges arises, and is characterized by believing that good outcomes will arise even when the life situation is not at par. The aim of the research was to assess the relationship between Personality and Resilience in young adults. For this, a sample of 150 young adults in age group between 18-25 years was selected using convenience sampling was used. They were assessed on NEO FFI-3 and Resilience scale and later the results were computed using SPSS. In analysis of the data, a Correlational Design (Pearson Product Moment Correlation) was used to check if any significant relationship exist between Big Five Factor personality components in relation to resilience. The results indicated that Resilience was (at a significant level) positively correlated to Conscientiousness, Openness to experience, Extraversion and negatively correlated with Neuroticism. No significant correlation was found between Agreeableness and Resilience.

Biopsychosocial model of resilience in young adults with multiple sclerosis (BPS-ARMS): an observational study protocol exploring psychological reactions early after diagnosis

IntroductionMultiple sclerosis (MS), the most common neurological disease causing disability in young adults, is widely recognised as a major stress factor. Studies have shown that the first years after the...

Is Resilience Affected By Parental Mental Illness? A Study of Tribal Young Adults

Resilience is a sign of positive psychological coping amidst adversity. Limited studies have investigated resilience in young adults who have a parent with mental illness, and fewer in tribal populations. This mixed methods study was based on a sequential explanatory model. A pilot field study was conducted with tribal young adults (n=10). The main study aimed to assess resilience in tribal young adults (n=61) through the administration of the Tamil translated version of the Wagnild& Young Resilience Scale (2009). Purposive sampling from a tribal hospital’s records derived young adults from 4 vulnerable tribal communities residing in Nilgiri hills of South India. Target group comprised tribal young adults (n=31) who had a parent with depression or psychosis, and comparison group comprised tribal young adults (n=30) with parents without mental illness. A subsample of participants from each group (n=5+5) was selected for a semi-structured interview. Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using Independent Samples t-Test and Thematic Analysis respectively. Results revealed that overall resilience was not significantly different between target and comparison groups, which accepted the null hypothesis. Resilience was not significantly different between females and males, which again accepted the null hypothesis. Despite living in severe adversity tribal young adults are resilient; parental mental illness is only one among many vulnerabilities faced by them. The prevailing extrinsic and intrinsic protective factors might explain their resilience.

Adherence to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Is Associated with Psychological Resilience in Young Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study

BackgroundThe 2010 Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2010), a measure of diet quality, is used to quantify adherence to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Better HEI scores have been associated with positive health outcomes; however, the relationship between diet quality and psychological resilience, a mental health attribute for coping with adversity, has not been assessed. ObjectiveThe objective of the present study was to assess the relationship between diet quality and psychological resilience, and the relationship between resilience and demographics, anthropometrics, socioeconomic status, and health behavior. DesignIn this cross-sectional study, HEI-2010 scores and resilience were assessed using the Block food frequency questionnaire and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Other factors that can affect the relationship between HEI-2010 scores and resilience were assessed using surveys, and height and weight were measured to calculate body mass index. Participants/settingMale and female Army and Air Force recruits (n=834) enrolled in a randomized controlled trial and 656 (mean±standard deviation [SD] age=21±3.3 years) were included in this analysis. Data were collected before the initiation of military training at Fort Sill, OK (2012-2013) and Lackland Air Force Base, TX (2013-2014). Statistical analysis performedParticipants were split into low- and high-resilience groups based on Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale scores. Student’s t test and χ2 tests were used to determine differences between groups for continuous and categorical variables, respectively. Logistic regression was utilized to identify predictors of resilience. ResultsBetter diet quality was associated with resilience; higher HEI predicted an increased likelihood (odds ratio=1.02; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.04) of a participant being in the high-resilience group after including race, ethnicity, education, smoking, age, body mass index, sex, and military branch in the full model. The data indicate that with every 10-point increase in HEI score, there was a 22% increased likelihood of being in the high-resilience group. ConclusionsRegistered dietitian nutritionists should continue to encourage attainable changes to improve diet; study data suggest that small improvements in diet quality can be associated with better psychological resilience.

DRD4-exonIII-VNTR moderates the effect of childhood adversities on emotional resilience in young-adults.

Most individuals successfully maintain psychological well-being even when exposed to trauma or adversity. Emotional resilience or the ability to thrive in the face of adversity is determined by complex interactions between genetic makeup, previous exposure to stress, personality, coping style, availability of social support, etc. Recent studies have demonstrated that childhood trauma diminishes resilience in adults and affects mental health. The Dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) exon III variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphism was reported to moderate the impact of adverse childhood environment on behaviour, mood and other health-related outcomes. In this study we investigated whether DRD4-exIII-VNTR genotype moderates the effect of childhood adversities (CA) on resilience. In a representative population sample (n = 1148) aged 30–34 years, we observed an interactive effect of DRD4 genotype and CA (β = 0.132; p = 0.003) on resilience despite no main effect of the genotype when effects of age, gender and education were controlled for. The 7-repeat allele appears to protect against the adverse effect of CA since the decline in resilience associated with increased adversity was evident only in individuals without the 7-repeat allele. Resilience was also significantly associated with approach-/avoidance-related personality measures (behavioural inhibition/activation system; BIS/BAS) measures and an interactive effect of DRD4-exIII-VNTR genotype and CA on BAS was observed. Hence it is possible that approach-related personality traits could be mediating the effect of the DRD4 gene and childhood environment interaction on resilience such that when stressors are present, the 7-repeat allele influences the development of personality in a way that provides protection against adverse outcomes.

Adolescent Protective Factors Promoting Resilience in Young Adults at Risk for Depression

In a longitudinal, community-based study, adolescent protective factors for those at risk for depression were identified that were associated with resilient outcomes in young adulthood. For those with childhood risk factors for major depression, significant protective factors included family cohesion, positive self appraisals, and good interpersonal relations. Findings may help inform the development of prevention and treatment programs for adolescents vulnerable to depression. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.

Familial alcoholism and premorbid cognitive deficit: a failure to replicate subtype differences.

Recent evidence suggests that offspring of alcoholics are heterogeneous in many areas of functioning. This study focuses on extending our understanding of the vulnerability and resilience of young adults with a positive family history of alcoholism (FH+) within the domain of neurocognitive functioning. Specifically, we test the hypothesis that cognitive vulnerability is linked to genetic pedigree by systematically examining a broad range of cognitive abilities in several distinct family history subtypes represented by alcoholism on the part of a first-degree relative only, a second-degree relative only, or both a first- and second-degree relative. Compared to an age-matched control group with no family history of alcoholism (FH-), FH+ subjects, on the average, reported somewhat less formal education than did FH- subjects. However, no substantive differences in cognitive functioning were obtained among any family history subtypes. Nor were any predicted yet nonsignificant trends in the ordering of mean cognitive performance levels observed across groups. These results strongly suggest that cognitive deficits do not generally obtain in community samples of premorbid FH+ subjects, and, further, that specific genetic pedigrees, as defined in this study, do not contribute to variability in neuropsychological functioning. A typological approach wherein subtypes of FH+ individuals are defined multidimensionally may be necessary to capture sources of neurocognitive vulnerability in premorbid offspring.