Grandparents, teachers and even bus drivers can build resilient kids
Grandparents bring "The Gruffalo" to life by doing different voices. They take you to visit lemurs at the zoo. They show you how to grow green onions on the windowsill. And they let you bite into every cookie in the tin when you can't decide which one you want.
Northeastern University psychology postdoctoral researcher Kelsie Lopez found that grandparents and other family elders play a crucial role in building resilient kids. Lopez noticed a lack of research on positive childhood experiences when she reviewed publications in neurodevelopment. She teamed up with professor Laurel Gabard-Durnam and colleagues from Bryn Mawr College to create a tool to assess these positive experiences.
The study, published in the journal Assessment, shows that positive experiences like learning opportunities contribute to improved mental health in adulthood, even after accounting for hardships and socioeconomic status. Participants rated how true statements about their childhood were on a four-point scale, which was then converted into scores reflecting more positive experiences.
The researchers found that positive experiences were linked to lower depression and anxiety, and greater resilience in adulthood, independent of adversity. The study included participants from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, all over the spectrum of adversity and positive experiences.
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