Page 21 - Science

A young Syrian
refugee (right) who
fled to Jordan listens
to a teacher (left) as
part of a Mercy Corps
youth program. Downloaded from

strong bond with a parent. Others bloomed ing adult. To complicate matters, humanitar- grams conducted in nine countries, in- http://science.sciencemag.org/
on March 1, 2018
from within, such as a sense of agency or ian groups use the term resilience to describe cluding Bosnia, Uganda, and Nepal. The
control over one’s fate. One of Garmezy’s any or all of these positive outcomes. researchers found that although all in-
students, developmental psychologist Ann “It’s quite a squishy concept,” says Jon terventions had some positive impact on
Masten, coined a term for the constellation Kurtz, Mercy Corps’s director for research mental health, less than half met their
of variables that together help a child tran- and learning in Washington, D.C. By collabo- goals. Nearly a quarter had a negative im-
scend bad circumstances: ordinary magic. rating with Dajani and Panter-Brick, Mercy pact on an endpoint the program aimed to
What began with Garmezy and the resil- Corps hoped to get a firmer grasp on how to improve, such as symptoms of depression
ient children in urban Minneapolis raised an support and measure resilience in the Syrian or PTSD. Some programs worked in one
obvious question: Can resilience be taught to and Jordanian teenagers, he says. country but failed in another: Teaching
others who might not come by it as easily? Or, Despite the cacophony of definitions, most emotional regulation to former child sol-
put differently, can ordinary magic be brewed studies of resilience interventions in children diers in Sierra Leone improved their social
for just about anyone? that question, social ask one of two questions: Does a program relationships, for example, whereas a simi-
answering
existing mental health by helping
promote
lar effort for Palestinian children increased
PHOTO: SEAN SHERIDAN/MERCY CORPS what, exactly, resilience is. They have yet to does it prevent mental health complications being affiliated with a political movement
Before
symptoms of PTSD. In a study in Nepal,
children cope with war and displacement? Or
scientists and psychologists had to consider
agree. Some believe resilience means restor-
for which children are now at higher risk?
appeared to protect mental health among
few
the
Outcomes are
mixed for
ing mental health after a traumatic event.
former child soldiers. Yet the opposite was
re-
that scientists
have
true among children in Bosnia, says Wietse
silience programs
Others consider it a conscious determination
under
difficult
circumstances.
Tol, one author
to
and a
of the 2016 review
persevere
Current
article
in
an
evaluated. In 2016,
describe it
Reports
reviewed
Still others
Psychiatry
as a child’s
data on
ability to
mental health researcher at Johns Hopkins
benefit from external resources, such as a car-
2 MARCH 2018 • VOL 359 ISSUE 6379 977
SCIENCE sciencemag.org 24 mental health and psychosocial pro- University in Baltimore, Maryland.
Published by AAAS
DA_0302NewsFeatures.indd 977 2/28/18 10:58 AM