Parental criminality is a risk factor for crime, but little is known about why some individuals exposed to this risk refrain from crime. We explored associations of resting heart rate (RHR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), cognitive ability (CA), and psychological functioning (PF) with criminal convictions among men with a convicted parent, accounting for unmeasured familial factors in sibling analyses. Data were obtained from Swedish registers, including all men born in Sweden between 1958 and 1992 with a convicted parent (N = 495,109), followed for up to 48 years. The potential protective factors were measured at mandatory conscription. Outcomes were conviction of any, violent, and non-violent crime. Survival analyses were used to test for associations, adjusting for measured covariates and unmeasured familial factors. Higher levels of RHR, SBP, CA, and PF were associated with reduced risk of criminality after adjusting for covariates. RHR associations were largely explained by familial factors. CA and PF associations were not due to sibling-shared confounders, in line with a causal interpretation. SBP results, indicating a protective effect against non-violent crime, warrant further investigation.

This study investigated associations between childhood neighborhood deprivation and adolescent mental health difficulties, and potential protective factors. Data were utilized from the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) (born in 2000–2002; N = 5,422; 52% female) and the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study (born in 1994–1995; N = 1,920; 53% female). Childhood neighborhood deprivation was measured using the Index of Multiple Deprivation between age 9 months and 14 years (MCS) and at age 12 (E-Risk). Adolescent mental health was assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire at age 17 (MCS) and the Diagnostic Interview Schedule conducted at age 18 with symptoms loading onto general psychopathology, internalizing and externalizing factors (E-Risk). Cross-classified models showed high levels of neighborhood deprivation in childhood were associated with more total problems (estimate = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.04–0.88) and internalizing difficulties (estimate = 0.32, 95% CI = 0.06–0.59) in adolescence within MCS. Being male, having higher self-esteem, greater social support, and a more positive parent-child relationship were associated with fewer total problems (estimates = −0.09–−1.87) and internalizing difficulties (estimates = −0.03–−1.88) at age 17 in the full sample regardless of neighborhood deprivation exposure. However, interactions revealed that higher self-esteem was especially beneficial for children exposed to high neighborhood deprivation (estimate = −0.35, 95% CI = −0.43–−0.27). No significant associations between childhood neighborhood deprivation and adolescent mental health symptoms were found in E-Risk. Interventions focused on improving self-esteem, social support, and parenting may help promote better adolescent mental health in the general population. Those living in the most deprived areas may benefit most from increased self-esteem.

Preschool anxiety is highly prevalent and well known to predict risk for future psychopathology. The present study explores whether a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder in preschool interacts with (a) social skills and (b) cognitive ability to longitudinally predict psychopathology, two well-known protective factors, among a sample of 207 children measured at preschool (Mage = 4.34 years) and early childhood (Mage = 6.61 years). To assess social skills and cognitive ability, we utilized the Social Skills Rating Scale and the Differential Abilities Scale, respectively. To assess psychopathology, we utilized the parent report of the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment. Hierarchical linear regression models revealed significant interactions between both social skills and cognitive ability with preschool anxiety. We observed that social skills protected against emergent psychopathology for both children with and without anxiety, although this association was stronger for children with preschool anxiety. Contrastingly, cognitive ability served as a protective factor against future psychopathology primarily among children without preschool anxiety. Results from this study identify targets for future intervention and inform our understanding of how preschool anxiety, a common disorder among young children, shapes future psychopathology risk in childhood.

Adverse childhood experiences can have a significant impact on adult psychosocial outcomes. However, negative outcomes are not inevitable, and protective factors can interrupt the realisation of negative developmental trajectories and result in positive adaptation in spite of childhood adversity. Interventions that promote social support, encourage education and academic achievement, and address specific personality and dispositional factors are likely to beneficial for those with experience of childhood adversity. Holistic assessment that considers both neurodevelopmental conditions and trauma symptoms is also important for promoting resilience and avoiding assumptions that mental and behavioural problems in children with cumulative adversity are purely ‘social’.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated challenges for millions of students globally, leading to enrollment cliff. This study addresses the existing research gap by investigating the influence of students’ mental health and various protective factors (i.e., optimism, help-seeking behaviors, social support) on academic persistence, an indicator of student retention. We utilized the structural equation modeling approach to examine the effect of students’ mental health conditions, risk perception of COVID-19 and protective factors on academic persistence through a sample of 1,051 students from 45 states. Students’ mental health positively predicted academic persistence. Risk perception of COVID-19 was negatively associated with mental health but positively predicted academic persistence and help-seeking behaviors. Optimism fully mediated the effect of mental health on help-seeking behaviors but did not mediate the effect of risk perception on help-seeking behaviors. Social support positively predicted academic persistence. This study underscores the integral role of mental health and protective factors in supporting student retention. Universities should develop targeted programs to address students’ mental health needs and promote protective behaviors. These initiatives can enhance academic persistence, thereby aiding in the retention of students affected by this pandemic or any future global crisis.

Older adults who have had a major depressive disorder (MDD) have a high risk of relapse. Although risk factors for depression have been researched extensively, less is known about protective factors, and what experiences might strengthen subsequent resilience and help to prevent relapse. Therefore, this qualitative study explored factors of resilience in older adults who recovered from MDD and did not relapse across at least six years. Twenty-five semi-structured interviews were held with older adults aged 73–85 years who participated in the Netherlands Study of Depression in Older Persons from 2008 to 2014 and were re-interviewed for the present study in 2020–2021. Participants were defined as resilient based on having an MDD diagnosis at baseline but not on two- and six-year follow-up. We used grounded theory coding techniques and thematic analysis to identify factors contributing to resilience. Factors contributing to resilience included: taking agency; receiving social support and engaging in social activities; doing activities individually; and managing thought processes. Resilience after late-life depression appeared to be a dynamic process involving internal and external factors, including finding a balance between rest and activity, between taking initiative and receiving support by others, and between accepting negative emotions and ignoring negative thoughts. Additionally, the ability to learn from depression shows that resilience is not only about avoiding psychopathology, but also about the recovery process and preventing relapse. These findings highlight the need for research and interventions to focus on understanding and influencing the dynamics underlying resilience.

Resilience, the capacity to maintain or regain functionality in the face of adversity, is a dynamic process influenced by individual, familial, and community factors. Despite its variability, distinct resilience trajectories can be identified within populations, yet the predictors defining these distinct groups remains largely unclear. Here, using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ages 0-18), we quantify resilience as the remaining variance in psychosocial functioning after taking into account the exposure to adversity. Growth mixture modeling identified seven distinct resilience trajectories, with over half of the study population maintaining resilience throughout early life. Factors increasing the likelihood of resilient trajectory membership included a less emotional temperament, high cognitive abilities, high self-esteem, low levels of autistic social traits, strong sibling relationships, high maternal care, and positive school experiences. Among the socioeconomic factors considered, maternal education – a significant indicator of socioeconomic status – and birth-order were associated with resilient trajectories. Our findings underscore the importance of fostering cognitive abilities, self-esteem, social relationships, positive school experiences, and extracurricular engagement to bolster resilience in adversity-exposed individuals and communities. This research informs resilience-focused interventions in mental health, education, and social policy sectors, and prompts further exploration of socioeconomic influences on resilience trajectories.

Negative maternal mental health during pregnancy increases the risk of psychiatric problems in children, but research on the potential benefits of positive maternal mental health during pregnancy is scarce. We investigated associations between positive maternal mental health composite score, based on reports of maternal positive affect, curiosity, and social support during pregnancy, and children’s psychiatric problems (Child Behavior Checklist) at ages 1.9−5.9 and 7.1−12.1 years among 2636 mother–child dyads of the Prediction and Prevention of Preeclampsia and Intrauterine Growth Restriction study. For each standard deviation higher positive maternal mental health score during pregnancy, total psychiatric problems were 1.37 (95% confidence interval (CI) −1.79,−0.95) t-scores lower in early childhood and 1.75 (95% CI −2.24,−1.26) t-scores lower in late childhood. These associations were independent of covariates and of negative maternal mental health. Total psychiatric problems remained stably lower from early childhood to late childhood in children of mothers with higher positive mental health during pregnancy, whereas they increased in children of mothers with lower positive mental health. Positive maternal mental health in child’s late childhood partially mediated the effects of positive maternal mental health during pregnancy on children’s psychiatric problems. Supporting positive maternal mental health may benefit mothers and children.

Although child maltreatment is associated with short- and long-term maladaptive outcomes, some children are still able to display resilience. Currently, there is a limited understanding of how children’s resilience changes over time after experiencing maltreatment, especially for young children. Therefore, the current study used a longitudinal, multidimensional approach to examine trajectories of resilience among very young children involved in child protective services and determine whether placement setting and caregiving behaviors are associated with resilience trajectories. This study used data from National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being I and conducted repeated measures latent class analysis, focusing on children under 2 years old at baseline (n = 1,699). Results suggested that there were three trajectories of resilience: increasing resilience, decreasing resilience, and stable, low resilience. Caregiver cognitive stimulation was related to increasing trajectories of resilience compared to both decreasing and stable, low resilience. These findings illustrate the importance of caregiving behaviors for promoting resilience among a particularly vulnerable population.