Adolescents, Families, Neighbourhoods: An Ecological Approach to Understanding Vulnerability, Competence, and Resilience

In Australia, and internationally, approximately 14% of young people experience clinical mental health problems with an increase in the rate of psychopathology symptoms occurring during adolescence (Kessler et al., 2002; Sawyer et al., 2000). To date, no representative Australian studies have comprehensively examined the risk and protective factors associated with resilience and vulnerability during the initial years of adolescence. To fill this gap and provide better understanding of factors that may mitigate risk during this vulnerable period of developmental transition, the current thesis is a collection of studies that aimed to identify ecological risk and protective factors associated with resilience, competence, and vulnerability of young Australians. Adolescents’ functioning is specifically considered in the context of disruptions to the parent-child and parent-parent relationship. The first aim of the thesis was to identify the ecological risk and protective factors associated with psychopathology and vulnerability in young Australian adolescents. Previous research on developmental psychopathology, resilience, and ecological research was used to provide a theoretical framework for the selection of variables included. Based on the reoccurring salience of the family environment for functioning throughout the lifespan, the second aim was to identify the unique contribution of family relations to difficulties in adolescence. Theories and models of development, family relations, and parenting were applied to investigate the third aim which was to identify factors associated with adolescents’ positive adaption to disruptions in family relations.