The proposed study will attempt to identify the protective factors for resilience among children of parents with a severe psychiatric disability, who have been exposed to extreme levels of community violence. The study will expand upon a controlled, longitudinal trial of a comprehensive family support intervention whose aim is to mediate child, parental, and service system outcomes for families with a psychiatrically disabled parent. The study has two specific aims: 1) to identify processes that moderate the negative effects of exposure to community violence; and 2) to examine how these protective processes change over time. One-hundred and seventy-five families in which the maternal caregiver has a severe psychiatric disability were recruited through a randomized invitation design to participate in a study that examines the impact of a comprehensive family support intervention on child, parent, and service system outcomes. The overall study tests a comprehensive model of how intensive family support mediates proximal risk factors for child, parental, and service system outcomes for children of parents with a severe psychiatric disability. The proposed study utilized data drawn from the original study to examine a model of resilience for children exposed to community violence. Data examining exposure to community violence, psychiatric symptoms, problem behaviors, self-concept, intelligence, child perception of bond with parents, home environment, adaptive behavior, social support network, socioeconomic status, and parenting capabilities were collected at entry into the study and at 9- and 18-months post-admission. Data will be analyzed to 1) identify the relationship of these factors to childhood resilience for children at various levels of violence exposure; and 2) to explore how protective processes for children with multiple risks change over time. This holds promise for contributing to knowledge in the areas of resilience in children exposed to community violence, identification of protective factors in children with multiple stressors, and the impact of a comprehensive family support intervention inn enhancing resilience. This study also provides the basis for subsequent grant development for a junior investigator to continue a research program on resilience in children exposed to community violence.
