A Hidden Cost to Resilience? Examining Behavioral Trajectories and Health Behaviors Among Children in Poverty

• In Event: Development and Learning

Abstract

There is increasing concern that resilience may come at severe developmental costs to health. The concern for children who appear resilient is that the physiological and psychological demands of behavior regulation in highly stressful contexts may, over time, result in negative physical health outcomes. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, we examine (a) whether there are distinct trajectories of behavior problems, from early childhood through preadolescence, among children living in poverty; and (b) whether developmental trajectories of behavior problems are associated with health-related behaviors at age 21-22. Preliminary results indicate that there are significant interindividual differences of behavior problems in both starting point and rate of change, allowing for the subsequent analyses of growth mixture modeling.

Authors

• Ji Hye Park, Boston College
  Presenting Author

• Eric Dearing, Boston College
  Non-Presenting Author

• Daphne Henry, University of Pittsburgh
  Non-Presenting Author