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Resilience Against Trauma-Induced Internalizing Problems and Substance Misuse Among Youth Entering Residential Care
Research Team
Principal Investigator: Alex Mason
Funding Information
Funding Agency: University of Nebraska Medical Center—Great Plains IDeA-Clinical and Translational Research Program
Award Date: Jul 1, 2025
End Date: Jun 30, 2025
Abstract
As many as three-quarters of the nearly 25,000 youth in residential care have experienced significant trauma in their young lives, including child maltreatment, poverty and for the large proportion of minoritized youth in residential care settings, systemic racism and discrimination.
Such trauma increases risk for mental and behavioral health problems; however, some youth in residential care who have experienced past trauma still display a remarkable degree of resilience, defined as adaptive functioning even in the presence of significant risks. However, it is unclear if the resilience characteristics identified in community samples of youth experiencing adversity have the same structure and function in higher-risk youth in residential care facilities.
Researchers will analyze extant clinical data collected from 2022 to the end of the planned project period in 2026 on approximately 900 youth, aged 11-18 years, who resided in the Boys Town Family Home Program — a residential care program that serves about 250 girls and boys each year who have been removed from their home due to conduct problems and other difficulties.
Using data collected at intake and at frequent youth check-ins during care, researchers will work to better understand the resilience characteristics that are salient and impactful for vulnerable youth in residential care.