Resilience When Faced with Childhood Adversity 1

Resilience When Faced with Childhood Adversity

Brittany Corbo

Chapman University
RESILIENCY and childhood adversity 2

Resilience When Faced with Childhood Adversity

There is a growing problem with American adults and drug abuse. Data from 2009 to

2014 displayed that 2.1 million children have lived with a parent with an illicit drug use disorder

(Lipari & Van Horn, 2017). Children of drug abusers are often found in foster care, where they

are tasked with challenges, including increased risk of depression and anxiety, attachment issues,

and difficulty trusting adults (Zlotnick et al., 2012). Between 2000 and 2017, there were 1.2

million children placed in foster care attributed to parental drug abuse (Neilson, 2019). Drug

abuse affects not only the user but their loved ones. Any family can fall victim to the effects of

drug abuse, despite background, race, culture, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status.

Alongside the growing drug epidemic in America, there is significant research that

analyzes the impact drug use has on the user. However, there is a lack of information regarding

parental drug abuse's implications on the child and how they can overcome the challenging

experience (Zlotnick et al., 2012). Despite the lack of research, individuals impacted by this

adversity can foster resiliency and surmount their traumatic event. This study aims to investigate

the various and unique ways that an individual of the foster care system impacted by parental

drug abuse can persevere, adapt and overcome their adversity by developing resiliency.

Literature Review

Foster Care

Foster care is a temporary arranged living situation for children whose parents are unable

to take care of them, and their need for proper care has come to the attention of a child welfare

agency (The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2022). Children can be placed into foster care for many

reasons: neglect, abuse, parental substance abuse, or unsafe living conditions. The foster care
RESILIENCY and childhood adversity 3

system can have impactful physical and mental effects that can inhibit an individual’s ability to

work, obtain an education and develop relationships (Zlotnick et al., 2012).

Entering the foster care system dramatically impacts the individual's overall health into

adulthood. Adults with a history of childhood foster care were twice as likely to be deemed

unable to work due to mental or physical health conditions and receive Social Security Disability

Insurance compared to those without a history of foster care (Zlotnick et al., 2012). Foster care

can impact both an individual’s mental and physical health, leading them faced with significant

difficulties while developing a career. In comparison to individuals not involved with the foster

care system, there are higher rates of chronic health problems present among adults with a

history of foster care involvement (Zlotnick et al., 2012). The current research presented

indicates that there is not proper mental or physical health support offered for foster youth.

Current research suggests that foster youth have significant gaps in achievement across

all academic subjects. “On average, child-welfare-involved youth started each school year below

grade level and then continued to fall further behind year over year (Clemens et al., 2018, p.

90).” The academic achievement gaps among foster youth can be attributed to instability with

home and school placements (Clemens et al., 2018). Home and school instability refers to lack of

consistency and reliability. With little consistency in living situations, foster youth are unable to

develop the relationships necessary to receive well-rounded academic help. There is data to

suggest that even prior to entering the foster care system foster youth are behind academically

which may be attributed to an unhealthy living environment (Clemens et. al., 2018). Children in

foster care make up one of the most academically vulnerable student populations in America

(United States Department of Education, 2020).

RESILIENCY and childhood adversity 4

Parental Substance Abuse

Parental substance abuse is something that affects approximately nine million children in

the United States (Lewis et al., 2021). The scope of impact on children who have experienced

parental substance abuse can range greatly. Parents who are substance abusers have a wide range

of impacts on their children’s mental and physical health (Lewis et al., 2021). One of the primary

impacts of a parent’s substance abuse is that the parent prioritizes the drug over their children

(Cattapan & Grimwade, 2008). Parents who are substance abusers are often unable to

demonstrate the necessary skills needed to support a child’s development. Parents that are drug-

addicted are often unable to provide adequate childcare to their children causing the child to

quickly develop the skills to care for themselves (Stenroth et. al., 1996). This causes the youth to

worry about different aspects of family life including housing, money, and parental health

(Cattapan & Grimwade, 2008). Youth impacted by parental substance abuse are at an increased

risk of developing psychological issues, poor academic performance, and poor coping strategies

(Lewis et al., 2021). Many children of drug abuse are subjected to violence including, physical,

emotional, sexual, and abuse from parent to parent (Cattapan & Grimwade, 2008). Exposing a

child to drug use in the home can be detrimental to their development.

Resiliency

Resilience is being able to adapt to life’s hardships, adversity, trauma tragedy, and major

stressors in a healthy way (American Psychological Association, 2020). Resiliency is a key

component of overcoming adversity (American Psychological Association, 2020). Individuals

that are able to foster resilience are able to emotionally recover from their traumatic situations.

There are a variety of ways for individuals to foster and demonstrate resilience. Individuals who
RESILIENCY and childhood adversity 5

lack resiliency are likely to carry the burden of their trauma with them by blaming themselves or

extending it to their daily lives (Kte’pi, 2020). There are many different factors that can enhance

one’s ability to be resilient. Some factors that are indicative of enhancing one’s resiliency include

social support, community resources, mental health care, and spirituality (Kte’pi, 2020).

Resiliency will be demonstrated differently across all individuals.

Protective Factors

Through extreme adversity, individuals are tasked with seeking ways to adapt and

overcome. Individuals will utilize and develop protective factors to uniquely overcome their

adversities. There are specific protective factors that work to foster the development of

resiliency for individuals that have experienced foster care or parental drug abuse. These

protective factors include spirituality/religiosity and being perseverant and a self-advocate.

Spirituality/Religiosity

Many individuals are reliant on spirituality when seeking comfort, understanding, and

guidance through a traumatic event (Stibich, 2022). For some individuals, spirituality can

support the development of resiliency. In a 1992 study of 200 at-risk youth, those that were

found to be resilient in their adulthood, it was reported that over 50% of women and 20% of men

relied on prayer and faith (Roehlkepartain et al., 2006). Spirituality and religiosity are noted to be

a crucial factor in reframing one's perceptions and behaviors toward adversity (Peres et al.,

2007). Religious methods and ideologies influence how their followers interpret and cope with

traumatic experiences (Peres et al., 2007).

Not only was spirituality and religiosity found to foster resilience, but it also helped

foster positive mental health. Research has shown that those with high levels of religious
RESILIENCY and childhood adversity 6

involvement are more likely to have positive well-being and mental health (Peres et al., 2007).

Similarly using religious coping mechanisms has been linked to positive mental and physical

outcomes among individuals who are medically ill (Peres et al., 2007). Religiosity and

spirituality are proven to be a positive influence for some individuals both mentally and

physically which can foster resiliency.

Perseverance and Self-Advocacy

In order to benefit from external protective factors, the individual must possess intrinsic

factors to overcome adversity. Perseverance and self-advocacy can affect one’s ability to become

resilient. Perseverance is an individual's ability to continually pursue goals and passions despite

obstacles or setbacks (Schaffner, 2022). Research has shown that possessing perseverance has

been linked to developing and maintaining resiliency (Tsai & Morissette, 2022). Perseverance is

often related to an individual's ability to learn from adversity. “Perseverant and resilient people

deal more productively with failure (Schaffner, 2022).” When challenged with adversity having

perseverance is vital in succeeding and meeting goals.

Self-advocacy is the ability to effectively communicate one’s needs (Lee, 2021).

Individuals who are strong self-advocates are more likely to flourish in all aspects of their life

including school, work, and relationships (Lee, 2021). Research has revealed that children who

have experienced extreme adversity are able to foster resiliency through self-advocacy (Grover,

2005). Self-Advocacy skills allow individuals to make their concerns known and communicate

their needs. Individuals who can effectively advocate for themselves may have fostered this skill

as a necessary means to protect themselves (Grover, 2005). In some cases, it is argued that self-

advocacy can be seen as the public recognition of resilience (Goodley, 2005). This means, if

individuals are strong self-advocates despite adversity they will be recognized as resilient.
RESILIENCY and childhood adversity 7

Methodology

For this study, participant data was gathered through a semi-structured informal

interview. This study’s participant is an individual that exhibited characteristics of resiliency

following a traumatic experience. In this study, the characteristics of resiliency that were

considered while selecting a participant included comfortability in discussing a traumatic event,

significant time between present and trauma, and emotional stability. The researcher was referred

to the participant through a work colleague. Participation in the study was voluntary and a

consent form was administered to the participant.

The Interview

The interviews that were conducted with the selected participant lasted thirty to seventy-

five minutes. Each interview was conducted at a public park. For the first interview, the

participant was asked forty questions to gain insight into the individual’s adversity and their

journey to building resiliency. The second interview conducted was filled with a series of follow-

up questions aimed to gather additional information regarding the benefits of the participant’s

protective factors. Throughout each interview, the participant was encouraged to provide any

additional information or anecdotes relevant to their story.

To ensure privacy for the participant, their name and any identifying information has

been changed. While conducting the interviews, the researcher took considerable notes on the

information that was presented by the participant. The researcher also audio-recorded each

interview to reflect on the interview and transcribe quotes accurately. Following each interview,

the researcher examined the data that was gathered to identify protective factors that attributed to

the participant's development of resiliency.

RESILIENCY and childhood adversity 8

The Interviewee

This study’s participant is Kai. Kai is a 27-year-old Black and Native American woman

living in Carson California. She is currently working as an autism behavioral aide in Los Angeles

County. She has recently begun her journey to higher education and enrolled herself in the

psychology program at her local community college.

Kai has been living in and around Los Angeles County for the entirety of her life.

Growing up she was living with her mother and father until her early adolescence when she was

placed into foster care. As a child, Kai was continually exposed to her parent's abusive

relationship. She has strong visual memories of a moment when her father physically abused her

mother in their home. Although Kai was unaware, growing up of her parent’s drug use, both of

her parents were heavily addicted to drugs. She was placed into foster care because her parents

had a physically and verbally abusive relationship with one another and were avid drug users.

Kai has explained that she does not have a clear recollection of all her time in foster care.

Although, following being placed into foster care, Kai was redirected to live with her aunt and

cousins for her high school years. The relationship she developed with her aunt became strained

as her aunt was verbally abusive toward her. Kai explained, “She [my aunt] never treated me like

one of her own; I never got the same treatment her kids got.” Throughout her time living with her

aunt, she and her family would always attend church. For Kai, going to church was a vacation

from her daily struggles. This was when Kai found herself relying heavily on her relationship

with God. Although, the verbal abuse from her aunt, coupled with poor mental health and no

outside support, caused Kai to be unable to earn her high school diploma on graduation day.

After high school, Kai made it her goal to leave her aunt’s house because it was straining

her mental health. Kai mentioned, “I always wanted better for myself, and I knew with God’s
RESILIENCY and childhood adversity 9

help I could get myself there.” She managed to get a retail job and moved out of her aunt's house.

Unfortunately, after moving out, she found herself struggling mentally and financially. This

caused her to work multiple jobs in order to provide for herself. During this time, Kai was

animate on fostering her relationship with God. She explained that she prayed daily and attended

church regularly.

Emerging into her adulthood, Kai found herself continuing to persevere. She has worked

in customer service, security, providing cleaning services, and childcare. She explains that she

will do whatever is necessary in order to make ends meet for herself. She has discovered her

passion for working with kids in the past few years.

Today, Kai often finds herself reflecting on her childhood. To help others overcome their

trauma, Kai is very comfortable sharing her story with anyone who wants to listen. She explains

that sharing her story with others makes her feel more comfortable with it has the potential to

help someone who is struggling. She also hopes to build relationships with others and works to

be a sense of support for the children that she works with.

Findings

Although the experience of developing resiliency will look differently across individuals,

there are critical elements that contribute to an individual’s resiliency. Identifying elements that

foster resiliency is important for individuals who have experienced parental substance abuse or

foster care. During the interview with Kai, it was apparent that key aspects aided her in

overcoming the trauma of being a foster care child and having drug-addicted parents. While

asked to reflect on the elements of life that helped foster resiliency, Kai disclosed many factors

that contributed to her trauma recovery. The common themes that contributed to Kai’s
RESILIENCY and childhood adversity 10

development of resiliency included connecting herself to religion and consistently persevering

and advocating for herself.

Religion

For individuals worldwide, religion is a heavily relied-on resource for those seeking

comfort and guidance (Stibich, 2022). Religion greatly impacted Kai’s development of resiliency

by aiding her in finding comfort, stability, and guidance. Religiosity has been recognized as a

contributing factor to helping individuals become resilient (Roehlkepartain et al., 2006).

Religiosity aids in assisting individuals to redefine their thoughts and feelings toward adversity

(Peres et al., 2007). Kai describes herself as a devout Christian with an ever-developing

relationship with God. Kai described her relationship with God and how she can rely on that

relationship in times of need:

I was always able to rely on God when I didn’t have anyone else to count on. My

relationship with God was a constant. There were a lot of times when I didn't know

where my life was going to take me or what my next steps were, but I knew he always

had a plan for me and will make sure I will get where I need to be.

Kai’s Christianity allowed her to reframe her adversities and place them as something

outside of her control. Individuals unable to develop resilience are often found holding the

burden of their trauma or blaming themselves for their adversities (Kte’pi, 2020). Religion was a

significant source of stability and consistency for Kai throughout childhood and adulthood. It is

essential for foster care youth to have a source of stability since there is a lack of stability in

many aspects of their lives (Zlotnick et al., 2012). Having a significant source of stability and

consistency was a key factor aiding Kai in developing resiliency.

Perseverance and Self Advocacy

RESILIENCY and childhood adversity 11

Key factors in developing resiliency include adapting to the hardships of life in a healthy

manner (American Psychological Association, 2020). While discussing her development of

resiliency, Kai continually noted that she persevered through all her adversities and demonstrated

self-advocacy. Both perseverance and self-advocacy have been proven to promote resiliency for

individuals faced with adversity (Tsai & Morissette, 2022), (Grover, 2005). Kai describes herself

as someone aware of her hardships, their implications on her, and what she needs to do to

overcome them. She demonstrated self-advocacy by ensuring her needs were met and

communicating her circumstances to the proper authorities.

While referencing her self-advocacy skills, Kai explained:

I always had to rely on myself. Nobody else in my life cared to help me get my needs

met. If I needed anything done, I would make it happen. I would ask for help from the

right people or work hard to do what I needed to do. I would keep trying and not give up

until I had my needs met. I never wanted to blame my life on anyone else.

Due to a lack of support—common for children impacted by foster care and parental

substance abuse—Kai had to rely on herself to ensure her individual needs were met (Cattapan &

Grimwade, 2008). Commonly with foster children, Kai struggled academically in her senior year

of high school. Ultimately, she was unable to receive her degree on time however, Kai describes

this time as a crucial time of demonstrating perseverance and self-advocacy. She has explained

that she would talk to her teachers about what she was coping with and did what she could to

meet her graduation requirements. The skills she fostered within herself are correlated with her

ability to develop resiliency towards her adversity.

Conclusion
RESILIENCY and childhood adversity 12

There are many unique systems at work that help an individual foster resiliency

throughout their life. For one individual, having a strong religious background and utilizing

perseverance and self-advocacy guided them to become resilient. Religion helps to provide a

sense of stability, comfort, and guidance (Stibich, 2022). Using persistence and self-advocacy

aids in developing a stronger sense of self and the ability to meet one’s own needs. These ideas

are something that are contributing to one individual’s development of resiliency and can be

beneficial to many others.

It has been acknowledged that children who have been in foster care or have parents who

are drug abusers are more likely to suffer academically and emotionally (Lewis et al., 2021).

This can cause the child to need extra support in school. School counselors have a unique

position in reference to supporting students that this adversity may impact. School counselors

have the ability to assist students in many different facets, including implementing intervention

methods to help children suffering from these issues.

School counselors must identify the needs of their students to ensure each student can

receive the necessary support. For school counselors, collaborating with parents/guardians is

essential to promoting students' academic, career, and social-emotional development (American

School Counselor Association, 2022). Collaborating with the parents/guardians of students

impacted by foster care or parental substance abuse can aid in improving the outcome of the

student and, in some cases, the parent (American School Counselor Association, 2022).

Developing a positive relationship with impacted students’ families will allow the counselor to

know the types of support these students may need.

Developing and implementing a trauma-informed school counseling program is essential

to meeting the mental health needs of trauma-inflicted students (Martinez et al., 2020). In
RESILIENCY and childhood adversity 13

adhering to a trauma-informed school counseling program, school counselors need to educate all

staff members on how to provide trauma-informed care (Rumsey & Milsom, 2019). Utilizing the

multi-tier systems of support methods while helping trauma-impacted youth will promote school

engagement and completion (Rumsey & Milsom, 2019). Being careful to provide a sense of

safety, promoting student empowerment and self-advocacy, and being culturally responsive help

develop a school environment where students can develop socially, emotionally, and

academically (Rumsey & Milsom, 2019). Implementing and organizing programs that work to

support students impacted by foster care or parental substance abuse could lead to more

successful students.

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Substance Use Disorder. Retrieved November 2, 2022, from
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Postscript

Overall, the process of interviewing was both an interesting and positive experience for

me. I am very appreciative of the fact that my interviewee felt comfortable sharing her life story

with me and allowing me to dissect it. I have never interviewed someone with these types of

parameters. I feel that through my research I learned a lot about this adversity and how I will be
RESILIENCY and childhood adversity 16

able to support my future students. I also feel like through the interview process I was able to

reflect on different aspects of my life as well.

I am thankful that she was willing to answer all my questions even though some of these

areas could be tough subjects for her. My interviewee and I have talked in passing in the past

when we worked at the same location. Although, this was a new experience for me and I feel that

I have learned a new side of her. She always presented herself as both happy and serious on the

job. I am grateful that she felt comfortable sharing her story with me even though we were

somewhat strangers to one another. To me, this shows that you never know what someone might

be coping with or the background they may have come from.

Through each interview, I became inspired. I know that in the future I will have the tools

and knowledge necessary to help children that may be coping with these adversities become

successful students. I learned ways that she felt would have benefitted her as a student and I am

excited to implement some of those practices. I was also inspired by my interviewee's ability to

continue to persevere. This helped me learn new ways to encourage my own perseverance.

Throughout the interview, I was able to reflect on different aspects of my life that felt

connected to her story. Similarly, to her, I was in a home where substance abuse was present.

Although before this interview I never really acknowledged that I was a child with a parent who

was a substance abuser. I feel like I never acknowledged this because I did not experience any

outside implications of it—foster care, a parent going to jail, a parent in rehab, etc. I have also

never examined the implications having a parent that is a substance abuser can have on a child.

Through my research, I was able to see ways that the implications of parental substance abuse

has manifested in myself and my sisters.

RESILIENCY and childhood adversity 17

Through the interview and my research, I feel like I will be a well-equipped counselor

who is able to provide services to foster youth and children who have substance, abusive parents.

This interview helped me build confidence in discussing things that are traumatic with another

individual. I will be able to use the skills that I have learned throughout this process to become a

successful and supportive school counselor.