RESILIENCE IN MALTREATED CHILDREN - PROCESSES LEADING TO ADAPTIVE OUTCOME

Evidence for resilience, competent functioning despite severe adversit y, was investigated in school-age, disadvantaged maltreated (N = 127) and nonmaltreated (N = 79) children attending a summer camp program. M ultiple areas of adaptation (social adjustment, risk for school diffic ulty, psychopathology) were assessed from self, peer, and camp counsel or perspectives and school records. A composite index of adaptive func tioning was developed, and levels of competence were delineated. Perso nality dimensions and personal resources, including cognitive maturity , self-esteem, ego-resiliency, and ego control, were evaluated as mech anisms promoting individual differences in successful adaptation. Malt reated children as a group evidenced lower overall competence when com pared to nonmaltreated children, An equal proportion of maltreated and nonmaltreated children, however, demonstrated high levels of competen ce, whereas more maltreated children than nonmaltreated children evide nced low levels of competence. Ego-resiliency, ego-control, and self-e steem were each found to predict individual differences in competent f unctioning. Evidence for the differential role of ego-control in promo ting competence for maltreated versus nonmaltreated children was found . The results are discussed in terms of mechanisms contributing to res ilient outcomes in maltreated children and the implications of the stu dy of resilience for the field of developmental psychopathology.