Girls More Resilient Than Boys From Abusive Homes

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A new study has revealed that girls are four times more resilient than the boys in overcoming a troubled childhood.

The study found that 70 percent of the children were exposed to two or more of adverse events such as having a heroin-addicted parent, these experiences include family mental illness, having a parent jailed, family violence, being a victim of abuse and having a parent die, and girls were more resilient than boys in overcoming such adverse events. About 62 percent had reported three or more adverse experiences and 22 percent reported four or more.

"These are very high-risk kids with at least one parent who is addicted to heroin," said Martie Skinner, a research scientist with the University of Washington''s Social Development Research Group and lead author of a new study.

"What we mean by resilience is a reasonable transition to adulthood by working or being in school, avoiding substance abuse and staying out of trouble with the law in the past five years.

"These seem like ordinary expectations, but only 30 of the 125 young adults we studied met them," Skinner added.

She stated that women are most likely to be resilient, mainly because men were more likely to have criminal charges. The study also revealed that other than drug-addict parent, the most common abusive events included a parent who was jailed (84 percent) and mental illness ( 78 percent).

Skinner said the study "indicates that there are early warning signs, and if children get the attention they need to meet early problems it can reduce the burden on society later on in caring for them."
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