There is increasing interest in protective factors for violence risk and it has been proposed that consideration of protective factors in addition to risk factors may lead to more balanced and accurate violence risk assessments. Part 1: A systematic review of the literature was conducted to explore the predictive and incremental validity of protective factors assessed using structured professional judgment (SPJ) violence risk assessment tools. Eighteen studies were identified which reported the predictive validity of protective factors for violent behaviour in adolescent and adult males using five different SPJ risk assessment tools. Overall, most studies found that protective factors were associated with the absence of violence. The evidence to support the incremental validity of protective factors (in addition to risk factors) was however less robust and most studies were identified as having a risk of bias which impacted on the potential accuracy and generalisability of the findings. Part 2: Using a pseudo-prospective design, the predictive and incremental validity of protective factors was explored using the Structured Assessment of Protective Factors (SAPROF) and Historical Clinical Risk Management-20 (HCR-20V3) guidelines in a sample of 75 male patients in a high secure forensic mental health inpatient setting. The SAPROF was associated with the absence of different types of violence within the hospital setting (with AUC values for the total SAPROF score ranging from .69 to .74). The SAPROF did not appear to significantly add to the predictive validity of the dynamic risk factors in the HCR-20V3. The Integrative Final Risk Judgment however demonstrated strong predictive validity (with AUC values for different types of violence ranging from .74 to .81) and incremental validity in the prediction of violent behaviour.

Abstract In this study, we examined potential protective factors against depression in the LGBTQ+ community by determining whether outness, self-esteem, perceived social support, life meaning, courage to challenge or resilience/hardiness, life satisfaction, and hope were correlated with less depression. There were 149 participants in the study, 38 of whom identified as members of the LGBTQ+ community, and 107 of whom identified as heterosexual. Participants completed an online survey that took approximately 30 minutes. It was predicted that protective factors would be negatively related to depression. Results of both correlation and regression analyses revealed no significant relations between protective factors and depression. In a post-hoc analysis, the correlations between these factors in the heterosexual participants were statistically significant. Protective factors may be less prevalent or less directly helpful in the LGBTQ+ minority community than they are in the heterosexual majority. In addition, LGBTQ+ participants reported significantly higher levels of depression than the heterosexual participants. Thus, these findings indicate that there are significantly less protective factors present in the lives of LGBTQ+ persons than there are in their heterosexual counterparts.

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / Due to the recent findings that the majority of South African’s have been exposed to high levels of trauma, the effects of trauma on mental health and wellbeing have become an important area of research in the South African context. Although many individuals in our country experience high exposure and multiple incidences of trauma, there are a significant number of people who seem to cope well in the face of adverse circumstances and trauma and do not develop stress symptomology as a result of exposure to a traumatic event. These individuals are viewed as resilient as they are able to utilize protective factors at their disposal, aiding them in preventing the development of symptoms associated with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). A large body of literature exists that identifies various protective factors, which may have a positive influence on an individual’s response to a traumatic event, thus making them more resilient. However, there is a gap in the South African research on the relationship between exposure to trauma, protective factors and the development of PTSD. The aim of this study is to explain how protective factors mediate PTSD symptoms. It investigates protective factors that resilient individuals utilize in the face of trauma such as; internal characteristics or traits, various demographic factors (i.e., age, gender), supportive interpersonal relationships, religious affiliation and community and family factors that have been identified as protective factors in the literature. Resilience emerged as significant in that it mitigated the development of posttraumatic symptoms (PTS) amongst the sample of university students. This indicates that despite the high incidences of exposure to trauma, individuals have the ability to be resilient, which therefore serves as a protective factor in the event of trauma. The present study constitutes a secondary analysis of previously collected survey data. The data being analysed is from a quantitative, cross-sectional survey that adopted a non-random, convenience sampling method. Logistic regression was undertaken in order to determine the relationship between age, religious affiliation, type of exposure, resilience and posttraumatic stress exposure. Only resilience emerges as a significant predictor underlying its importance for mediating traumatic outcomes. It highlights the importance od including protective factors in future research and interventions.

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Resilience is a phenomenon that refers to the ability to overcome risk factors that increase the likelihood of academic or social failure. Considerable research has been conducted to determine what may enhance or hinder the ability of individuals to overcome adversity. Unfortunately, much of the research has focused primarily on factors that place individuals at greater risk of failure. Today in the United States, a number of students experience academic failure due to multiple risk factors. However, the research is clear that there are individuals referred to as resilient who are able to achieve at high levels in spite of many of the same risk factors. This heuristic phenomenological study provides insight, based on interviews with high risk, African-American, young adults, into those factors that enabled them to exhibit behaviors consistent with resilience in spite of risk factors in the home, school or community. The study helps to illuminate their challenges and the reasons for their success. / Ed. D.

Although emotional maltreatment is clearly a very important issue that impedes youths' development, it has only recently begun to receive the attention it deserves. The present study hypothesized that for adolescents with high self-worth, high religiosity, high parent and peer support, high family cohesion, and low family conflict the negative effects of emotional abuse on internalizing symptomatology would attenuate. Additionally, the same protective factors were hypothesized to moderate the relationship between emotional and physical abuse and adolescent internalizing symptomatology. Two samples were used in order to test the aforementioned hypotheses: 1) a whole sample that consisted of adolescents with no or any emotional and physical abuse (N = 220) and 2) a no physical abuse sample that consisted of adolescents with no or any emotional abuse (N = 118). In order to assess the study variables the following measures were used: Conflict Tactics Scale-PC, Self-Perception Profile, Youth Religiosity Scale, Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, Family Environment Scale, and Youth Self Report. None of the study's hypotheses were supported by the current data. It is assumed that this might be due to the sample's nature and it is suggested that future studies utilize a sample with different age groups and with higher reports (means) of emotional and physical abuse. However, the findings suggested that emotional abuse had a stronger effect on internalizing symptomatology than physical abuse, and the significant main effects of self-worth, parent support, peer support, and family cohesion indicated the importance of their presence in adolescents' psychological adjustment. / Ph. D.

This empirical research study focuses on the qualities of resilient adolescents in a technical school. The study indicates why some adolescents in a technical school are resilient, while other adolescents in this technical school are not resilient. Thirty resilient and thirty non-resilient adolescents in a technical school were chosen to participate in the empirical study. The empirical study consisted of quantitative research (a questionaire that was completed by the sixty adolescents), and qualitative research (three chosen resilient adolescents took part in an interview). This study is therefore a mixed methods study. The conclusions of the study were supported by the literature. The qualities of the resilient adolescent in a technical school are similar to the qualities of resilient adolescents in other contexts. Resilient adolescents in this technical school were characterized by protective factors and processes that had their roots in the individual, the community, culture and relationships. This study is an explorative study. More rigorous research is needed before this study's findings can be generalised. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2008.

The purpose of the present study was to determine whether distinct patterns of adolescent adjustment existed when four domains of functioning were considered. The study included a sample of 299 high-risk urban adolescents, predominantly African American, ages 9-16 and their maternal caregivers. Cluster analysis was used to identify patterns of adjustment. Logistic regression analyses were used to explore whether variations in levels of five theoretically and empirically supported protective factors predicted cluster membership. A four-cluster model was determined to best fit the data. Higher rates of goal directedness and anger regulation coping predicted membership within the highest functioning cluster over a cluster demonstrating high externalizing problem behaviors, and neighborhood cohesion predicted highest functioning cluster membership over a cluster demonstrating high internalizing symptoms. Findings suggest that within a high-risk population of adolescents, significant variability in functioning will exist. The presence or absence of specific protective factors predicts developmental outcomes.

Resilience characteristics typically have been studied among children and adolescents. A new line of research on resilience is focused on exploring the resilience characteristics of adults exposed to short and long-term adversity. In the present study, 585 master's-level counseling students responded to the Resilience Scale (Wagnild & Young, 1993). The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between counseling students' level of resilience and specific background variables (age, gender, marital status, ethnicity, education, income, employment, living situation, sexual orientation, and country of origin), counselor-education program variables (primary field of study, number of credits taken, academic status, professional affiliations, supervision status, counseling courses, role identification, and accreditation), and risk (poverty, natural disasters, and terrorism) and protective variables (perceived support, school expectations, and community involvement). The results of this study indicated that resilience characteristics and the overall resilience score were associated with background variables, risk and protective variables, and counselingtraining- program variables. The counseling-training-program variables examined were minimally correlated with participants' resilience characteristics or their resilience score. The results of this study offer support for the adoption of wellness-based assessments of counseling trainees, as opposed to measures of impairment. Suggestions are offered for counselor educators and supervisors regarding possibilities for fostering the resilience of counseling trainees as well as counseling practitioners.