School- and community-level protective factors for resilience among chronically maltreated children in Japan

Purpose Few studies have investigated how school- and community-level modifiable factors might enhance resilience, defined as an ability to recover from and cope with adversity, among chronically maltreated pre-adolescent children. This study aims to investigate school and community factors that can increase children's resilience following maltreatment. Methods We used data from the Adachi child health impact of living difficulty (A-CHILD) Study, a population-based prospective longitudinal study starting with first-grade children in all public elementary schools in Adachi City, Tokyo, Japan in 2015. Children who experienced chronic maltreatment while in 1st and 4th grades and whose resilience scores were available at those grades were included in the analysis (N = 789). Crude and multiple regressions were used to examine associations of child-reported school factors (i.e., school social capital, number of friends to consult with) and community factors (i.e., having a non-parental role model and supportive adult, having a third place, which is defined as a place other than home to spend time after school) with parent-reported resilience at 4th grade. These regressions were also performed stratified by sex. Results School social capital and having a non-parental role model at 4th grade were positively associated with resilience after adjusting covariates, including resilience at 1st grade [coefficient = 3.63, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 2.26-4.99; coefficient = 2.52, 95% CI 0.57-4.38, respectively]. Analysis by sex revealed that having a supportive adult, but not a role model, was associated with resilience among girls (coefficient = 5.50, 95% CI 0.20-10.8). Conclusions The findings suggest that school and community factors can promote resilience following child maltreatment, and these factors are different between boys and girls.

Automated summary

This study aims to investigate the impact of school and community factors on resilience among chronically maltreated children. The findings suggest that school social capital and having a non-parental role model are positively associated with resilience, and there are gender differences in the factors influencing resilience.