Science and practice focused on child resilience and family resilience have deep and intertwined roots, yet there have been surprisingly few efforts to systematically integrate the theory, findings, and implications of these two traditions of work. In this article, the authors discuss parallels in concepts and processes that link the sciences of child and family resilience and the potential of relational developmental systems theory to provide an integrative framework for understanding and promoting resilience in children and families. The authors describe components of an integrated approach to child and family resilience, highlighting examples from recent research, and discuss implications for research, practice, and professional training.

These findings deserve further study in a larger, more diverse sample.

Objective-To examine rates and patterns of health-risk behavior (e.g. sexuality, depression/ suicidality, substance use, delinquency) among a national probability sample of youth active to the child welfare/child protective services system. Recent federal legislation, P.L. 110-351, encourages child welfare systems, Medicaid, and pediatric experts to collaborate to assure youth entering foster care receive comprehensive health examinations.Methods-Analysis of baseline caregiver, caseworker and child interviews, and assessment data for a subsample (n=993) of youth, ages 11-15 years, from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, a national probability sample of children and adolescents undergoing investigation for abuse or neglect.Results-Almost half of the sample (46.3%) endorsed at least one health-risk behavior. On Poisson multivariate regression modeling, factors related to higher rates of health-risk behaviors included older age, female gender, abuse history, deviant peers, limited caregiver monitoring, and poor school engagement.Conclusion-Given the heightened vulnerability of this population, early screening for health-risk behaviors must be prioritized. Further research should explore specific subpopulations at risk for health-risk behaviors and possible interventions to change these youths' trajectories.