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The extent to which parent, school, and peer support differentially affected multiple domains of resilience was examined among 2,600 sixth, eighth, and tenth graders from an urban public school system who took part in a comprehensive survey of high-risk and adaptive behaviors. Structural equation modeling was used to specify the relation among seven domains of resilience and parent, school, and peer support among children who had been victimized by community violence, those who had witnessed such violence, and a no-exposure control group. Results upheld the validity of a multidimensional conceptualization of childhood resilience, and indicated that although both parent and school support factors were significantly positively associated with resilience in children who had been exposed to community violence, peer support was negatively associated with resilience in the domains of substance abuse and school misconduct/ delinquency. These results were most robust among victimized children, followed by children who had witnessed violence. Implications for social policy and community violence research are discussed.

This study examined social-emotional functioning in children with Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome (TS) alone and children with TS and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In addition, the contribution of family functioning to social competence was examined. Children with a clinical diagnosis of TS were recruited from the Yale Child Study Center TS specialty clinic. Unaffected control children were recruited through newspaper advertisements and announcements within the university and at area schools. The final sample consisted of 72 children (45 boys and 27 girls) between the ages of 8 and 14. Sixteen children met DMS-III-R criteria for TS, 33 children met criteria for TS and ADHD, and 23 children had no psychiatric diagnoses. Children with TS and ADHD evidenced more externalizing and internalizing behavior problems and poorer social adaptation than children with TS only or unaffected controls. Children with TS only were not significantly different from unaffected controls on most measures of externalizing behaviors and social adaptation but did exhibit more internalizing symptoms. Tic symptom severity was not associated with social, behavioral, or emotional functioning among children with TS, even after stratifying by medication status. However, ADHD diagnosis, obsessional symptom severity, and family functioning were significantly associated with social and emotional adjustment among TS children. Moreover, family functioning was associated with social and emotional adjustment even after controlling for TS and ADHD diagnostic status. These findings demonstrate that much of the social and behavioral dysfunction in children with TS is ADHD-specific and children with TS alone have a very different social-emotional profile than do those with TS plus ADHD. Finally, social-emotional adjustment in children with TS is best understood within the family context.

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