Characterizing competence among a high-risk sample of emerging adults: Prospective predictions and biological considerations

Abstract

Few conditions epitomize severe and chronic stress to a greater extent than child maltreatment, which can derail development across multiple domains of functioning and throughout the life course. Furthermore, child maltreatment tends to co-occur with other adversities, such as poverty. Many individuals grow up under the stressful conditions of these adversities and exhibit developmental competence. The current study prospectively charted the developmental progression of economically disadvantaged maltreated and nonmaltreated children from childhood to emerging adulthood, and examined patterns of competence across multiple developmental domains of functioning central to the period of emerging adulthood. The study investigated childhood precursors to these patterns of adaptation and maladaptation, as well as the physiological cost of these patterns of adaptation (i.e., C-reactive protein; CRP). Latent class analysis revealed four distinct classes of functioning: multifaceted competence across domains (Multifaceted Competence); (multifaceted maladaptation across domains (Multi-Problem); (c) and two classes with mixed patterns of competence and maladaptation (Externalizing Problems and Work/School Impairment). Maltreated individuals were less likely than nonmaltreated individuals to demonstrate patterns of multifaceted competence and more likely to demonstrate aggregate maladaptation across domains. Additionally, Black men who demonstrated a pattern of multifaceted psychosocial competence also evidenced higher levels of low-grade inflammation (indexed by CRP), suggesting physiological distress was associated with adaptation in the context of stress among these individuals. Findings demonstrate the heterogenous patterns of functioning and diverse developmental outcomes that follow early adversity.

Early childhood maltreatment and profiles of resilience among child welfare-involved children

“…To our knowledge, this is the first study to delineate various profiles of resilience using a national probability sample of children in the child welfare system. Our findings corroborate past personcentered studies that found different patterns of resilience among individuals with a history of maltreatment (Martinez-Torteya et al, 2017;Russotti et al, 2020;Yates & Grey, 2012) and offer compelling evidence for the multifaceted nature of resilience.…”

“…The low cognitive resilience profile and the low emotional and behavioral resilience profile validate the notion that resilience is not an "all or nothing" phenomenon (Luthar, 2013) in that children with these profiles displayed more resilience in certain areas while showing less resilience in other areas. The low cognitive resilience profile appears to align with school maladaptation profiles identified in prior research (e.g., "school maladaptation/family protection profile" in Martinez-Torteya et al, 2017; "work/school impairment" profile in Russotti et al, 2020). However, the low cognitive resilience profile identified in the current study is unique in that it was based on specific measures of language/cognitive development and pinpoint a group with less resilience in language development, whereas the school maladaptation profiles in previous studies encompassed broader indicators of school adaptation (e.g., educational attainment, employment status, peer relations) beyond language/cognitive ability.…”

“…The first aim of the current study was to identify profiles of resilience across multiple domains of functioning (cognitive, emotional, behavioral, social) during early childhood among child welfare-involved children. Building upon prior research that found three to five distinct classes of resilience/ competence in maltreatment samples (Martinez-Torteya et al, 2017;Oshri et al, 2018;Russotti et al, 2020), we hypothesized that we would identify at least four distinct profiles of resilience (e.g., multidomain resilience, multidomain problems, low behavioral resilience, and low cognitive resilience). The second aim was to investigate maltreatment characteristics and family protective factors as predictors of resilience profiles.…”

A Person-Centered Approach to Resilience and Vulnerability in Emerging Adulthood: Predictions From Parenting and Personality in Adolescence

“…Latent profile analysis (LPA) enables the identification of such hidden profiles, and, moreover, can handle missing data and offers model fit statistics (Lanza & Cooper, 2016). Hence, LPA addresses the notion of resilience that adaptation in one domain of functioning only gains meaning in relation to the individual's functioning in other domains (Luthar, 2006;Russotti, Warmingham, Handley, Rogosch, & Cicchetti, 2020). In the current person-centered study, we aimed to identify profiles of resilience in emerging adulthood and to examine how these profiles are related to multiple parenting behaviors and personality traits assessed in adolescence.…”

A person-centered approach to resilience and vulnerability in emerging adulthood: Predictions from parenting and personality in adolescence

“…Latent profile analysis (LPA) enables the identification of such hidden profiles, and, moreover, can handle missing data and offers model fit statistics (Lanza & Cooper, 2016). Hence, person-centered approaches such as LPA provide a useful statistical method for addressing the claim that, in studying resilience, adaptation in one domain of functioning only gains meaning in relation to the individual's functioning in other domains (Infurna & Luthar, 2018;Russotti et al, 2020).…”