GC: Lately we have been hearing a lot about the connection between resiliency and prevention. Can you explain exactly what resiliency is and its importance to the field of prevention?

Ms. Benard: Certainly. Resiliency refers to a body of research that followed "high risk" children, often for a majority of their lives. These are children that we would think would think would be at high risk for later problems, such as alcohol or drug abuse, teen pregnancy, or delinquency.

GC: What would put them at risk?

Ms. Benard: These are children exposed to certain factors such as living with alcoholic or substance abusing parents, physical or sexual abuse, or poverty. Most of the things you think of as "risk factors" for kids. For example, let`s say a child is growing up in an alcoholic family. Research suggests that the child has a greater likelihood of developing alcoholism because 1 in 4 children of alcoholics become alcoholics themselves, compared to 1 in 10 of a normal population. Recognizing that increased risk led some people to ask, "Does that mean most kids growing up in these situations develop problems?" We began to realize that nobody was looking at the fact that three out of four didn`t.

So researchers started to observe children before there were any issues and followed them through adolescence to adulthood. The researchers found that a majority of these children who we would label "high risk" didn`t have problems. In fact, in the words of Emmy Werner, not only were these children absent of problems like drug abuse, delinquency, teen pregnancy (all the fields we have prevention for), these children grew up to be competent, confident, and caring.

As several of these studies came of age in the mid to late eighties, these researchers started comparing notes. Most of them found that at the very worst -- and that was usually in a case where children had multiple risk factors like being in poverty, experiencing abuse, and living in foster care -- about half of the young people wound up having problems in adolescence and adulthood. But, for example, often 80% of children who were sexually abused somehow managed to grow up to be healthy adults.

This research that studied the lives of these kids and identified what helped them to overcome such adversity and become confident, competent and caring adults revealed what works in prevention! That`s the information I have been trying to get out for the last 20 years or so since I first discovered resiliency.

GC: Is there a profile of a resilient child?

Ms. Benard: About 10 or so years ago, when I first started writing about this, most of the researchers talked about a profile or traits of resilient children. The tendency in research is to study individuals as opposed to their environment. The first thing I looked at was what did these kids have that other kids didn`t.

The research found that these kids were socially competent -- they were able to communicate, have empathy, and care for other people. They knew how to form relationships with other people which was very critical in terms of getting the support they needed. These children were able to reach out and form connections to people.

Then the researchers also identified a skill I call "problem-solving." This skill is the ability to try a strategy (whether it`s for a math problem or a social problem) and if it doesn`t work, being able to look at alternatives, be flexible, and try something else.

Another important factor is a sense of self, which I refer to as autonomy. This involves having a sense of your own identity and setting personal boundaries so you know where your self begins and someone else`s ends. That`s often a difficult issue in a family where there is abuse and people take on everybody else`s issues.

GC: Their boundaries become blurred?

Ms. Benard: Yes. But kids with a strong sense of autonomy use adaptive distancing to remove themselves from that negative centrifugal pull. For example, if there is a family problem like alcoholism or domestic violence, an autonomous child has the ability to step back and say, "I am really not the cause of my father`s drinking, nor can I control or cure it -- and yes, I can have a different life." That kind of distancing helps to protect one`s sense of self and identity.

The last category, which is an extremely significant one, is having a sense of purpose and future. This encompasses things like having educational aspirations, motivation, and goals for yourself, as well as faith and a sense of hope and optimism. All of these are qualities that researchers have studied and find associated with healthy development.

That was my understanding after my initial look at resilience. However, at this point, I really see these variables as outcomes of children learning them through exposure to environments where they are modeled.

GC: So they are not inherent attributes, but an outcome of a specific environment?

Ms. Benard: Yes! Resilience is an innate capacity everybody has for healthy development. All of these strengths or traits or attributes associated with resilient children are really capacities probably genetically programmed in all of us. I have become clearer on this in the last ten years, because I think that if the human race didn`t know how to connect to other people through social competence we wouldn`t have survived. Knowing how to problem solve, separating oneself from one`s tribe when necessary, and having a sense of hope are all survival skills, as well.

In the last ten years a huge movement has developed called positive psychology. This movement not only studies all of these strengths I just mentioned, but also focuses on optimism, hope, faith, empathy, caring, and love. It`s quite exciting to see what`s happened over these last few decades since I first wrote about this. But all of these are clearly critical strengths that we want our kids to have, and I think that the capacity is in all of them.

GC: But do these strengths need to be developed or nurtured?

Ms. Benard: Absolutely. The question is, "How do kids learn these?" I believe there are all kinds of ways. Social learning folks like Albert Bender believe that over 90% of everything we learn we learn through what`s modeled in our environment. I think children certainly learn love when they experience it. Unfortunately, sometimes kids grow up and don`t see it modeled around them. But we can create programs or early interventions in which we have caring staff that model all of these resilience strengths.

GC: What are the potential downfalls of prevention initiatives that focus primarily on negative risk factors rather than positive action strategies?

Ms. Benard: I have had many debates regarding what they call "risk-based science." My experience has been that when we only focus on risks -- which is really a statistical concept -- we lose track of the individual variations in responses to risk. Which means that we ignore all the stories of people`s lives who have defied the risk predictions, and we take the heart out of prevention. To focus only on risk really never answers the question, "What works to help youth succeed (remember more do than don`t) despite exposure to risks?"

GC: So it seems to focus on what`s wrong rather than what`s right?

Ms. Benard: Yes! Then what happens is kids get known by their risk factors and what that does to their sense of self is to say, "I am my problem." Then they don`t see that that`s only one aspect of who they are. They lose sight of the fact that they are also an incredibly loving older brother or sister or a good student. All those other good things that they are can be lost when they only know themselves by their problem. The risk-based approach gives these children or their families or entire communities a label. There is a huge body of research that shows that when someone gives you a label or has expectations of who you will be, you often rise or fall to whatever that is.

GC: Are you saying that labeling in itself is a risk factor?

Ms. Benard: It`s a risk factor, absolutely.

It also plays into a movement to see whole groups of people at risk, such as people of color, poor or immigrant children. This leads to us forgetting that these people all have capacities and that most of them do well in their lives. I think that also plays into a loss of belief in our children and young people in their capacity to overcome adversity.

GC: How does having a sense of purpose empower kids to succeed?

Ms. Benard: When we have an intention for our future, we have hope. We are able to create goals for ourselves and we can envision ourselves in this other place. One researcher calls it "a possible life." If children have grown up with lots of challenges, but they are successful, they often will make decisions to continue that success. They will say, "I am not going to go out and get stoned because that gets in the way of what I want to do in my life."

If we don`t have something positive to aim for, it`s hard to resist all the little temptations along the way. But when you have something you want to protect and preserve, you say, "I am not going down that road."

GC: Finding that road helps you avoid the detours?

Ms. Benard: Absolutely. I think we all want to feel that our lives matter. We all want to make a difference, and finding out how to do that is a part of our journey.

GC: If one of the environmental systems of a child`s life puts that child at risk, can the other arenas of that child`s life provide the protective factors a child needs to overcome such adversity?

Ms. Benard: Absolutely. That`s why you have some researchers studying how children in poor communities still succeed in life. There are usually schools encouraging them, teachers who challenge them and are there for them, and family members advocating for them. Although these children are living in a challenged community, they find support from the family and school.

A major risk factor in a child`s life is being born into a troubled family that can`t be there for the child. That`s the child`s first environment. It is in these types of situations that you often find the absolute restorative or reclaiming power of schools. You will hear kids from troubled families say, "If it weren`t for that teacher, I wouldn`t be here."

There is a lot of research on neighborhood-based organizations that reach out to students who didn`t get the support they needed in school and dropped out. Once those kids connected to an after-school program or a neighborhood-based organization, they found people that believed in them, that cared about them, and that connected them to a brighter future.

GC: It seems like the school and the community should be considered part of each child`s extended family.

Ms. Benard: Yes! The ideal situation is one in which the family, school and community work together. But it is encouraging to know that by overlapping these systems, you can create a safety net for kids that can fill in the gaps.

GC: Why are caring and supportive relationships considered one of the most important variables in a child`s life?

Ms. Benard: Through my research, I found that there are three critical overlapping categories of protection for kids. First, kids need caring and supportive relationships.

Second, they need high expectations which entails people who believe in them, challenge them, and help them to find their strengths and skills. These are people who often help them to reframe their sense of selves from being an "at-risk person" to an "at-promise person."

Third, they need opportunities to be active participants -- which means making decisions, having ownership, having leadership opportunities, being active participants and then active contributors in their families, schools and communities.

So those are the big three. But, first and foremost, it starts with caring and supportive relationships. I suppose that supports everything that Erikson and all the child developmentalists have said. It`s your first connection into the world and you need to bond with somebody who is there and supportive of you. From that basis of security and trust you are able to start exploring your environment, taking on challenges, and then developing more confidence to take on even more challenges. Without having that basic sense of trust, it`s hard to go out there and do the rest.

GC: Why does the lack of trust and those bonds lead to at-risk behaviors?

Ms. Benard: We have this basic human need to connect with someone and develop that sense of trust. My theory is that when that need isn`t met, we look to fill this empty hole in our lives -- and often use drugs to fill it.

GC: In what ways can a child`s faith contribute to his or her resiliency?

Ms. Benard: Emmy Werner and other researchers have found that a sense of faith is the most powerful resilient strength. It can be religion, but not always. If it is faith in God, research showed that it didn`t matter which God – it could be Allah, Yahweh, Buddha, Christ or another god. It can also be a faith in the future or a faith in another person. It`s a sense that life has a meaning, and you have a place in it. It`s a deeper faith in something greater than one`s self.

GC: How does giving children responsibilities communicate that they are worthy and capable of being contributing members of their families, schools, and communities?

Ms. Benard: If we care about our kids and believe they have gifts to offer, we have to give them those active learning experiences. We need to provide opportunities for them to have real responsibilities, a sense of ownership, and a belief that what they are doing makes a difference. We all know that when we do something that is just busy work, it`s meaningless and we hate it. But for example, when we work in a garden in our school to grow some food for poor families in our community, it gives us a sense of power. Responsibilities help us realize our own sense of power and that what we do matters.

GC: It seems as if it cycles back -- by not only benefiting the child, but the family and the community, as well.

Ms. Benard: Absolutely. It`s a win/win for everybody. I think one of the most exciting movements in the last five years has been what they call community youth development and resilience research supports it! When we create the kinds of programs, choices, and relationships with people that kids really need, young people are not only helping themselves and developing in a healthy and successful way, but they are also improving their families, their schools, and their communities.

GC: How can the school serve as a shield to help build resiliency in students?

Ms. Benard: The school emerges in so much of the research as this institution where kids are able to feel safe, where they were able to develop skills, and where they develop relationships and felt connected. It`s that powerful source of those three protective factors: caring relationships, high expectations, and opportunities for participation.

People need to realize that if we can make schools feel safe to kids, their brains will learn. We know their brains don`t learn when they are in a place where they don`t feel emotionally or physically safe. When you have an emotionally and physically safe school and supportive relationships with teachers and peers, kids will do well. I think our challenge now is to help schools, politicians, and policymakers to understand that academic success, health protection, and youth development are really inseparable.

GC: How can schools provide opportunities to develop caring relationships with both adults and other youths?

Ms. Benard: There are lots of ways. It helps to have teachers who do some basic things like taking the time to listen. Bringing in outside volunteers and doing some form of school-based mentoring is showing really good results. Cooperative learning studies always find positive academic, social, emotional, and moral outcomes in kids, As kids work cooperatively in groups, they learn that they can get support from their peers, not just from their teachers. Peer helping is another wonderful strategy for promoting caring.

Part of setting high expectations is recognizing that every kid is different, learns in a different way, and has different strengths. Schools need to help each student identify and develop his or her unique talents. The challenge to schools is finding out the goals or dreams of each student. Give teachers a form for them to list their students` interests, strengths, goals and dreams. When they organize that information, they can design activities to inspire their students and help them to develop their gifts. It`s interesting because you look at the multiple intelligences research, and it matches the resiliency strengths.

Schools cannot lose sight that our kids aren`t just little brains sitting in a classroom, but whole bodies. They need to help kids develop by providing them with arts opportunities. There is so much great research that shows that when kids have the chance, either in their school or in their community-based organization, to do any creative art -- whether it`s theater, art, music, video, creative writing, and that includes even journaling their own lives -- they do better academically and are more active citizens.

Finally, schools need to provide opportunities for students to participate and contribute. It`s as simple as engaging kids in class by asking their opinions, making it safe for them to talk, and really listening to what they have to say.

Another approach that is so successful is service learning. Kids can either do something in their school, like a peer helping program or they can go out and work in the school garden or maybe go to a nursing home and do something to help other people. The research is clear, both in national studies and in California, that you see every one of those resilient strengths go up when kids have these opportunities to help. It also gets the kids more engaged in school through this form of experiential learning.

GC: It seems like from what you are saying that meaningful connections between children`s families, schools, and communities are vital to their resiliency. How can these networks be strengthened?

Ms. Benard: It begins by each environment reaching out. Families also need to reach out and spend time in the classrooms. Visiting the school provides opportunities to connect with other parents. Research shows that getting to know the parents of a child`s friends reduces that child`s likelihood of alcohol abuse and drug abuse.

Schools can reach out to families by bringing in parents through positive meaningful roles, such as mentoring or tutoring students. School-based family support centers can provide an opportunity for parents to come in to the school, learn, meet each other, and volunteer.

Schools also need to forge relationships with community-based organizations because they have so many supports and opportunities that schools no longer have. With the current budget cuts, it`s going to become critical that schools know what is going on in the communities for kids. They need to realize that they can invite these community organizations onto campus to offer programs. This has been occurring through the rise of the after-school movement, which is probably one of the most exciting things that`s happening to bring families, schools and communities together. I hope we can continue to support that movement.

All of these institutions need to remember that by working together to provide supportive relationships and opportunities for our kids to contribute, they can weave the fabric of resilience.

ABOUT BONNIE BENARD

As a Senior Program Associate at WestEd in Oakland, California since 1999, Bonnie Benard is responsible for developing applications of resilience and youth development research for the Health and Human Development Program. She had primary responsibility for the development of the California Department of Education`s Healthy Kids Survey`s Resilience and Youth Development Module, which surveys students throughout California on their perceptions of supports and opportunities in their schools, homes, communities, and peer groups.

During her career, Benard has written widely, provided training, and made presentations for national and international audiences in the field of prevention and resilience/youth development theory, policy, and practice. From 1990 through 1996, Benard was a Research Associate at WestEd`s Western Center for Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities in San Francisco, where she published Fostering Resiliency in Kids: Protective Factors in the Family, School, and Community(1991), a document credited with introducing resiliency theory and application to the fields of prevention and education. In 1992, she received the Award of Excellence from the National Prevention Network; in 1995, the Paul Templin Award for Service by Western Center for Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities; in 1997, the Spirit of Crazy Horse Award from the Black Hills Reclaiming Youth seminars for her advocacy of resilience and strength-based practice; and in 2002, the Paul D. Hood Award from WestEd for Distinguished Contribution to the Field.

Benard received a BA in English and an MSW, both from the University of Missouri, Columbia. Her book, Resiliency: What We`ve Learned will be available through Wested in the fall of 2003.