4 Troubled Teens Blog

The authors of new book about teenagers who were able to overcome severe psychiatric problems have found that such teens share certain traits, such as resilience and optimism, that help them overcome their difficulties.

• Stuart Hauser, Joseph Allan and Eve Golden studied 67 people who had been patients as adolescents in locked wards of residential psychiatric hospitals.
  
• Twelve years later, only nine had recovered and gone on to become "successful, optimistic and trusting adults."
  
• The authors wanted to look beyond factors such as education and social economic status, and focus on the personality traits that helped the teenagers get through their adolescent crisis.
  
• They conducted extensive interviews with all 67 former patients.

The ones who recovered were better able to tell their life stories in a complicated and nuanced way. They could organize and integrate material that was extremely difficult into cogent narratives, and they were more resilient and more likely to learn from their mistakes.

The ones who remained stuck in their problems told stories that were simple and flat, and demonstrated less emotional awareness than those who recovered.

The new book is entitled Out Of the Woods: Tales of Resilient Teens.

Labels: psychiatric_illness, optimism

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A new study finds that there could be advantages in teaching children resilience, positive emotions, and a sense of purpose -- advantages that include reducing the risk of teen depression. according to Dr. Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania, children who have these positive qualities are less likely to be depressed and more likely to have higher grades:

An Aug. 7 press release provided the following details from Dr. Seligman's research:

• Dr. Seligman and his colleagues reviewed 19 studies begun in 1980 of more than 2000 children ages eight to 15 years old.
• Some of the children were enrolled in the Penn Resiliency Program and the Positive Psychology Program, programs that taught assertiveness, creative brainstorming, decision-making, relaxation, and other coping skills to help them handle everyday stress and problems common to adolescents.
• Dr. Seligman found that the programs reduced the children's sense of hopelessness, anxiety, and depression, and increased their enjoyment and engagement in school.

"It is important to start in the formative school years, so positive thinking and resilience are instilled and available to handle future challenges," Dr. Seligman said Aug. 8 during a presentation at the 117th annual convention of the American Psychological Association.

Labels: depression, research, optimism

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