Sources of resilience to adverse social environments

Lead researchers - Prof. Stephen Stansfeld, Dept. of Psychiatry, Queen Mary University of London and Professor Sarah Curtis, PhD., Professor of Health and Risk, Department of Geography, University of Durham,
Co-investigators - Dr. Vicky Cattell, QMUL and Jenny Head, UCL
Co-researchers - Muna Arephin, , Professor Peter Congdon, Jamie Fagg and Dr.
Anne-Marie Tupuola all QMUL, Dr Catherine Rothorn, Department of Sociology, University of Oxford

This project will examine health and educational attainment outcomes for children and young people in relation to questions of resilience to adverse environments (defined in terms of socio-economic conditions and low levels of educational attainment in the areas where they live). Analyses will be carried out in two data sets which relate specifically to these questions: The Health Survey for England (HSE) which in 2002 includes a special booster sample of children and the RELACHS survey of 2790 children in schools in East London in 2001. This will enable us to test whether mental and physical health outcomes for individual children are related to the educational attainment levels and employment conditions in their areas of residence, independently of other socio-economic factors. Educational attainment will also be examined as an outcome of individual and neighbourhood socio-economic conditions and educational environment.

A further part of this component of the network will be analyses in the Whitehall II study of psychosocial conditions of work in adulthood (including work strain, skill use, work variety and social supports) and stressors arising from childhood experience. Psychological distress at work may be linked to the current working environment, but may also be associated with previous childhood experiences and resources that build either resilience or vulnerability to current conditions. Measures of early life emotional and physical deprivation will be used with early protective measures of the security of attachments in close relationships to establish a childhood contribution to adult resilience. Psychosocial conditions and relationships at the workplace are therefore central to this component.

This page last modified 30 November, 2007 by Administrator