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Growth Through Adversity: Risks and Resilience in Child and Adolescent...
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Growth Through Adversity: Risks and Resilience in Child and Adolescent Mental Health

A special issue of Children (ISSN 2227-9067). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatric Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2025) | Viewed by 1426

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Camie A. Tomlinson

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Kent School of Social Work and Family Science, University of Louisville, 2313 S. 3rd Street, Louisville, KY 40292, USA
Interests: childhood adversity; child maltreatment; mental health; risk and protective factors; child and adolescent development
Prof. Dr. Becky Antle

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Kent School of Social Work and Family Science, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
Interests: child welfare; interpersonal violence; high-risk sexual behavior; mental health; mental trauma

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It has been well established that childhood adversity, such as exposure to maltreatment, household dysfunction, and community violence, detrimentally affects child and adolescent mental health. The focus of research has more recently shifted to the risk and protective factors and processes that influence mental health in the context of childhood adversity. Gaining a better understanding of biological, social, psychological, and environmental factors that increase vulnerability to mental health problems and that promote resilience is critical to informing more targeted prevention and intervention efforts for children and adolescents. Therefore, the aim of this Special Issue is to highlight innovative research that advances our knowledge regarding the influence of risk and resilience factors on the effects of childhood adversity on mental health during the developmental periods of childhood and adolescence. We are particularly interested in publishing a collection of research papers that consider biological, social, psychological, and environmental risk and resilience factors.

We welcome empirical research, original scoping or systematic reviews, and original meta-analyses related to the aforementioned aim of this Special Issue and encourage submissions from various disciplines and interdisciplinary teams (e.g., psychology, social work, public health, nursing, psychiatry).

Dr. Camie A. Tomlinson
Prof. Dr. Becky Antle
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Children is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • childhood adversity
  • children
  • adolescents
  • mental health
  • risk
  • resilience

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 557 KB  
Article
Associations Between Patterns of Sleep Disturbances and Mental Health Among Child Welfare-Involved Adolescents
by Camie A. Tomlinson, Tiarra Abell, Andreana Bridges, Becky Antle and Samantha M. Brown
Children 2026, 13(4), 441; https://doi.org/10.3390/children13040441 - 24 Mar 2026
Viewed by 132
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Sleep is an important biobehavioral process that supports child and adolescent health and development. However, many prior studies examining sleep and mental health have relied on total sleep scores, which may mask the heterogeneity of sleep disturbances. Youth exposed to childhood [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Sleep is an important biobehavioral process that supports child and adolescent health and development. However, many prior studies examining sleep and mental health have relied on total sleep scores, which may mask the heterogeneity of sleep disturbances. Youth exposed to childhood adversity are at increased risk for sleep disturbances and poor mental health, and thus it is important to examine the links between sleep and mental health within adversity-exposed samples, such as those involved with the child welfare system. Methods: This study used latent class analysis to identify underlying patterns of sleep disturbances and examine differences in mental health symptoms (assessed at baseline and at an 18-month follow-up) across the identified subgroups in a sample of child welfare-involved adolescents (N = 1041, Mage = 13.63 years, SD = 1.86). Our sample was derived from the second cohort of the National Survey on Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) study. Results: We identified three subgroups of sleep disturbances: no sleep disturbances (38%), sleeping more than peers and overtired (16%), and trouble maintaining sleep (47%). We found significant mean differences in mental health symptoms across subgroups. Across internalizing, externalizing, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms at baseline and at an 18-month follow-up, those in the no sleep disturbances subgroup had overall lower levels of symptoms compared to those in the trouble maintaining sleep subgroup, which had higher levels of symptoms. Compared to those in the sleeping more than peers and overtired subgroup, the trouble maintaining sleep subgroup had higher levels of PTSD symptoms at baseline, and higher levels of externalizing and PTSD symptoms at the follow-up. Those in the sleeping more than peers and overtired subgroup had significantly higher levels of internalizing, externalizing, and PTSD symptoms at baseline compared to the no sleep disturbances subgroup, but there were no significant differences at the 18-month follow-up. Conclusions: The current study highlights the importance of considering the heterogeneity of sleep disturbances to identify child welfare-involved youth who may be more at risk for sleep disturbances and poor mental health and to inform more targeted sleep interventions for this population. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Growth Through Adversity: Risks and Resilience in Child and Adolescent Mental Health)
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19 pages, 1478 KB  
Article
Understanding Vulnerability During Preventive Child Health Examinations: Insights from Danish General Practitioners
by Sarah Kornum Melgaard, Lotte Lykke Larsen, Janus Laust Thomsen and Camilla Hoffmann Merrild
Children 2026, 13(2), 221; https://doi.org/10.3390/children13020221 - 4 Feb 2026
Viewed by 419
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Child vulnerability is a predictor for potentially adverse challenges for the child and family, but the term is used inconsistently across settings. Danish general practitioners (GPs) are centrally positioned as the front line of the health care system. Thus, the aim of [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Child vulnerability is a predictor for potentially adverse challenges for the child and family, but the term is used inconsistently across settings. Danish general practitioners (GPs) are centrally positioned as the front line of the health care system. Thus, the aim of this study is to explore Danish GPs’ perspectives and assessment of child vulnerability, using an exploratory, sequential mixed-methods approach. Methods: Eleven GPs were interviewed, focusing on perceptions and management of child vulnerability in the context of preventive child health examinations (PCHEs). Interviews were analyzed in two stages. From the first deductive analysis, a quantitative data recording chart was developed. This was distributed to 10 general practices, to collect GPs’ perceptions and management of child vulnerability, and 197 recordings were completed. Secondly, to develop themes independently of the deductive coding, data was analyzed inductively, creating an in-depth understanding of GPs’ perspectives. This resulted in four themes. Results: GPs associated the concept of child vulnerability with a multitude of social, somatic, and psychological factors. To recognize child vulnerability, GPs found time and scope during PCHEs limited and knowledge of the family essential. Collaboration with social services was perceived as insufficient. The most frequent finding during PCHEs was related to somatic challenges (60%) and follow-up consultation was the most frequent response (64%). Conclusions: GPs considered child vulnerability a complex term. Assessment of child vulnerability was strongly related to knowledge of the family, and usually based on several consultations, which underscores that PCHEs represent only one of several contexts where concerns are assessed and addressed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Growth Through Adversity: Risks and Resilience in Child and Adolescent Mental Health)
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19 pages, 275 KB  
Article
Resilience in Adverse Contexts: Youth and Clinician Perspectives on Navigating Community Violence
by Angel Boulware and Deidra Bibbs
Children 2026, 13(1), 122; https://doi.org/10.3390/children13010122 - 14 Jan 2026
Viewed by 465
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Community violence remains a pervasive public health challenge that disproportionately affects Black youth, with lasting impacts on physical and mental health. Traditional models often conceptualize resilience as individual “bounce back” capacity, overlooking how adaptation unfolds amid chronic violence and structural inequity. This [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Community violence remains a pervasive public health challenge that disproportionately affects Black youth, with lasting impacts on physical and mental health. Traditional models often conceptualize resilience as individual “bounce back” capacity, overlooking how adaptation unfolds amid chronic violence and structural inequity. This study examined how Black youth and trauma clinicians understand, navigate, and redefine resilience within contexts of ongoing community violence exposure. Methods: Using a phenomenological qualitative design, the study drew on semi-structured interviews and focus groups with Black youth and clinicians participating in a community violence trauma recovery program in Chicago, Illinois. Data were analyzed thematically to identify patterns in how resilience was described, practiced, and supported. Results: Black youth redefined resilience through adaptive survival strategies—such as hypervigilance, avoidance, and emotional regulation—that functioned as protective responses to continuous threat. Clinicians recognized resilience as relational and context-dependent but reported limited training to address trauma rooted in chronic, community-level conditions. Both groups highlighted the role of collective and structural supports, including family, peers, and community networks, in sustaining adaptation. Conclusions: Findings highlight the need to expand trauma-informed care beyond individual treatment to address structural conditions that perpetuate community violence. Integrating ecological and culturally grounded models of resilience into clinical training and community programming can improve support for Black youth navigating chronic exposure to violence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Growth Through Adversity: Risks and Resilience in Child and Adolescent Mental Health)
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