Resilience in maltreated youth: Support vs. positive identity

Introduction: Given the multiple risk factors and limited resources that maltreated youth face on a daily basis, the study examined the associations between self-reported substance use behaviors and select protective factors in an effort to identify assets that may be especially effective for maltreated youth in Child Protective Services. Methods: Using secondary data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being, a series of logistic regressions and chi-square analyses were used to determine the relationship between four developmental assets and three substance use behaviors among a sample of 1593 adolescents aged 11-18. Results: Maltreated youth with perceived family support were about 15% less likely to have ever used alcohol or tobacco, and 24% less likely to have ever used drugs than those without support of any kind; while those with support from non-parental adults had no significant difference in substance use behaviors. Maltreated youth with more negative self-esteem were about 20% more likely to have ever used alcohol, tobacco, and/or drugs. Having future expectations did not significantly affect the risk of having ever used these substances. Conclusions: Maltreated youth may avoid more risk behaviors if they perceive having family support and have not developed a sense of negative self-esteem. This is especially important when dealing with children who are living with alternative or substitute families while coping with the trauma of abuse.