PROJECT SUMMARY
Maternal adverse experiences not only impact the mother's health, but also negatively affect her child's
immediate and long-term functioning. According to the syndemic model, three specific adversities - substance
abuse, violence, and AIDS/HIV (i.e., SAVA) - tend to co-occur. These SAVA variables are highly prevalent
among racial/ethnic minorities and those living in poverty. Most studies only examine associations between
maternal adversity and problematic youth functioning. By solely highlighting poor functioning in the family
system, this risk orientation perpetuates health disparities. An alternative approach, informed by Ungar's
social-ecological theory, explores how some youth exhibit resilience in the wake of maternal adversity. Guided
by this approach, our study aims are to: 1) examine direct associations between maternal SAVA and youth
resilience across individual, relational, community, and cultural levels; 2) assess indirect effects of maternal
mental and physical health on this relationship, and 3) gather in-depth information about social-ecological
youth resilience via qualitative interviews. This mixed methods study will involve partnerships with three
community organizations in the Midsouth. Using an explanatory sequential design, we will conduct 252
quantitative interviews assessing maternal SAVA, youth resilience, and maternal mental and physical health.
We will interview 63 mothers who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV), 63 mothers who endorsed
symptoms of substance use disorders, 63 mothers who are living with HIV, and 63 mothers who have not been
exposed to any SAVA variables within the past 6 months, along with their respective child aged 8-17. The
central hypothesis is that youth whose mothers have fewer, and less severe, SAVA experiences will show
greater resilience at individual (resources, social competence), relational (parent-child relationship, parenting
effectiveness), community (belonging, cohesion), and cultural (ethnic identity, traditions) levels. Further, we
hypothesize that maternal mental and physical health will mediate the association between maternal SAVA
and youth resilience across all four levels. Based on quantitative analysis, any resilience level shown to be
significantly associated with maternal SAVA will be selected for further exploration in the qualitative aim. Youth
with the highest scores from each significant resilience level will be interviewed (along with their mother) about
how facets of resilience manifest in the youth's day-to-day life. Knowledge gained will serve as pilot data for a
future R01 grant to develop a strength-based intervention aimed at increasing youth resilience. This project
shows innovation in its examination of the collective components of resilience in the context of cumulative
adversity. By identifying mutable resilience-oriented factors that are relevant to a community highly impacted
by adversity, this multi-informant study is poised to address a critical gap in research by assessing the unique
experiences of youth who have been exposed to substantial adversity, yet evidence significant resilience.