Tiêt, Huizinga / CONSTRUCT OF RESILIENCE AND ADAPTATION Dimensions of the Construct of Resilience and Adaptation Among Inner-City Youth

This article reviews the conceptualization of resilience and empirically examines the dimensionality of a construct of resilience and adaptation by using structural equation modeling techniques. As part of a longitudinal study of youth development, youth ages 12, 14, and 16 and their parents who lived in high-risk neighborhoods in theDenvermet-ropolitan area were interviewed. The construct of resilience and adaptation was mea-sured by six indicators: psychosocial functioning, self-esteem, academic performance, absence or low level of drug use, gang involvement, and delinquent activities. Factor analyses usingLISREL suggest the existence of at least two latent constructs of resilience and adaptation: Adjustment and low level of Antisocial Behavior. Implications of the findings are discussed. Studies of children at risk of psychopathology have played an important role in the outgrowth of research on resilience (Masten, 1994; Masten, Best, & Garmezy, 1990; Rutter, 1990). Risk studies are based on the paradigm that risk factors predict psychopathology and have successfully identified numer-ous predictors of psychopathology. Under the assumption that all relevant variables are included in the model, the paradigm predicts that all individuals at low risk will have favorable outcomes (Group 3) and all of those who are at high risk will have unfavorable outcomes (Group 2) (see Figure 1). Empirical findings, in general, support this paradigm. However, many studies have found that numerous high-risk individuals defy unfavorable out