A scoping review on mediators and moderators of childhood adversity has recently been published in BMJ Open.
This review investigated resilience factors that help prevent or reverse the negative effects of childhood adversity on adulthood outcomes, such as mental health and educational attainment. The study aimed to identify research gaps by examining current evidence on resilience resources and pathways that mediate or moderate long-term outcomes after childhood adversity. Additionally, it focused on gender differences, an area often overlooked in resilience research.
A total of 102 studies were included in the review. Findings from the review suggested that the resilience literature focuses heavily on individual-level resilience factors. Gender was considered in approximately 22% of included studies and was always limited to comparisons between men and women. There is no evidence that childhood adversity impacts men and women differently in the long term, but there is some evidence for gender differences in resilience factors.
The review suggests that there is untapped potential in resilience research. By considering structural-level factors simultaneously with individual-level factors, and including gender as one of the elements that shape resilience, we can map resilience as a heterogeneous, multilevel process from a public health perspective. This would complement the extensive existing literature on individual-level factors and help reframe resilience as a concept that can be intervened on at a structural level, and that is subject to societal norms and forces, such as gender. Further, there is a lack of quantitative studies including transgender and gender-non-conforming persons.
Read more: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-080259