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Disadvantaged youth are subjected to negative life events, poor environmental circumstances, and chronic adversity that put them at risk for emotional, cognitive, developmental, and behavioural problems.[1] The pressures of leaving home and having to fend for oneself force these youth into making quick and impulsive decisions about how best to survive. Youth who are experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness must also rely on their own personal strengths and use their best judgment in order to navigate the stressful and dangerous realities of life on the streets. However, despite these hardships,there are considerable individual differences in how these youth respond to risk and adversity.[2] Some actually show a capacity to seek out resources that lead to positive development. This resilience sustains well-being and is also associated with reduced suicidality and health-endangering behaviours such as substance misuse.[3][4][5]

In a study of 155 disadvantaged youth from low socioeconomic single parent families, researchers found that resilient youth displayed greater self-regulation, increased levels of competence, and fewer mental health symptoms compared to their less resilient counterparts.[6] Moreover, another study uncovered strong negative associations between resilience and depression, resilience and hopelessness, and resilience and suicide ideation in a sample of 70 youth experiencing homelessness.[7] Resilience is therefore a critical factor in the maintenance of good mental and physical health in disadvantaged youth populations.

1. Ngai, S., Cheung, C., To, S., Lu, Y., & Song, H. (2013). Parent–child relationships, friendship networks, and developmental outcomes of economically disadvantaged youth in Hong Kong. Children and Youth Services Review, 35, 91-101. https://doi-org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.09.025

2. Rutter, M. (1985). Resilience in the face of adversity: Protective factors and resistance to psychiatric disorder. British Journal of Psychiatry, 147, 598-611. https://doi-org/10.1192/bjp.147.6.598

3. Unger, J. B., Kipke, M. D., Simon, T. R., Johnson, C. J., Montgomery, S. B., & Iverson, E. (1998). Stress, coping, and social support among homeless youth. Journal of Adolescent Research, 13, 134–157. https://doi-org/10.1177/0743554898132003

4. Cleverley, K., & Kidd, S. A. (2011). Resilience and suicidality among homeless youth. Adolescence, 34,1049–1054. https://doi-org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2010.11.003

5. Roy, E., Haley, N., Leclerc, P., Sochanski, B., & Boudreau, J. F. (2004). Mortality in a cohort of street youth in Montreal. Journal of the American Medical Association,295, 569–574. https://doi-org/10.1001/jama.292.5.569

6. Buckner, J. C., Mezzacappa, E., & Beardslee, W. R. (2003). Characteristics of resilient youths living in poverty: The role of self-regulatory processes. Development and Psychopathology, 15, 139–162. https://doi-org/10.1017/s0954579403000087

7. McCay, E., Langley, J., Beanlands, H., Cooper, L., Mudachi, N., Harris, A., Blidner, R., Bach, K., Dart, C., Howes, C., & Miner, S. (2010). Mental health challenges and strengths of street-involved youth: The need for a multi-determined approach. Nursing Research, 42, 30–49. Retrieved from https://journals.lww.com/jnr-twna/pages/default.aspx