European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 10, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Who thrive against the Odds by Daniel Golem an new York times woman a paranoid Schizo Plevnic. Ale All her meals in restaurants because she was convinced someone was poisoning her food at Home her 12-year-old daughter developed the same tears and likewise ale in restaurants. Her 10 year old daughter would cat at Home if her father was there but otherwise Wen along with her Mother but the woman s 7-year-old son always ate Al Home. When a psychiatrist asked Tho boy Why he said with a shrug. Well. I m nol dead  alter several years Tho older daughter developed paranoid schizophrenia like her Mother. The younger daughter while sharing some other Mother s ears managed to go to College and adjust fairly Well to Lite. But the son went on to perform brilliantly in College and in his adult life the Young boy is one of a group of children who Are holding an increasing fascination for experts i n child development brought up under the most chaotic abusive or impoverished circumstances they go on to thrive. The data on How they thrive has been growing becoming More specific and offering a cohesive picture of children who had been the most baffling of enigmas there is no single set of qualities or circumstances that Chara Tizes All such resilient children. But psychologists Are finding that they stand apart from their More vulnerable siblings almost from birth. They seem to be endowed with innate characteristics that insulate them from the turmoil and pain of their families and allow them to reach out to some adult a grandparent teacher or family Friend who can lend crucial emotional support grinding hardship will leave oven these children with psychological scars. But by and Large they Are Able to thrive in circumstances that leave other children emotionally disabled such children flourish despite horrendous conditions said e. James Anthony a psychiatrist Al Chestnut Lodge Hospital in Rockville my who interviewed the self confident Young boy. Research by Anthony and other scientists is creating a composite View of paths resin enl and vulnerable children so to follow. Some of the most recent findings on the lifelong attributes of resin enl children Are from a study of nearly 700 children born in 1955 on the hawaiian Island of Kauai. All the children were born to impoverished Ami ties whose parents worked on sugar and pineapple plantations one Parent we sometimes both was alcoholic or mentally ill. And. To add to the difficulties the children themselves suffered a trauma at birth such As oxygen deprivation of forceps delivery. Each of these factors increases the Odds against a child s emotional adjustment. And Over the years Many of the children have shown signs of psychological disturbance. But about 1 in 10 not Only could withstand the difficulties but also developed exceptionally Well. In findings reported last july in Tokyo at the International society for the study of behavioural p in elopement data from the first 30 years of the some children Are Ebla to succeed. In spite of troubled families children s life highlighted the importance of their ability to find someone Efto could help them too the world with Trust. Without exception Alt the Chi Lovcan who thrived had Al least one person thai provided them consistent emotional support a grandmother an older sister a teacher or neighbor said emmy Werner a psychologist Al the University of California Al Davis who directs he study. These Are kids who Are Good at recruiting a subs Lille Parent who is a Good Model for them in interviews when they we of 30, Many of the resilient children could recall a teacher from As Early As the first Grade who clod As a Mentor giving them a sense that they could achieve despite the difficulties of their childhood. Absence of a supporting adult in a child s life is seen Over and Over in a Range of problems from delinquency and drug abuse to Leen suicide said or. Norman Marmery a psychologist Al the University of Minnesota who has been at the for Elrona of the new research. Garmezy leads a network of research projects at different universities financed by the Macarthur foundation which Are studying the factors Hal protect children or put them Al risk. In addition to a winning sociability that Drew people to them most of the resilient children in Iho Hawaii study also had a Talent or special interest that absorbed them and gave them a feeling of Confidence. They were Able to use whatever skills they had Well even if they were nol terribly Bright Werner said. For some ii was simply being Good Al swimming or dance for others being Able to raise prize winning animals. Us these activities offered them Solace when things got  by age 30, the resilient children had gotten More education and reached higher economic Levels than others in the study Werner said among them were an architect a District attorney and a composer. Another study Al of Widen from deprived and troubled Homes by j. Kirk Felsman and George e. Vaillant. Psychiatrists at the Dartmouth medical school i racked 456 men from Early adolescence into Middle age m found that Tho More successful adults were sol apart by industriousness and organization in Early adolescence. Sometimes this meant working in a part time Job taking on major chores at Homo or being intensely involved with a school club or team. As younger children they showed a dogged persistence in the face of failure. You can Sec their ability to Bounce Back in simple Laski. Like building a Tower with blocks Anthony said. A less resilient child will Stop when the Tower tails or not try to build it very High. Bui the resilient child keeps going each Lime it  some children Havo protective trails virtually from the beginning of Hie according to Ellen Farber a psychologist at the slate University of new York Al Bullaro and Byron Egeland a psychologist at the University of Minnesota. Their findings appear in the Invulnerable  published recently by Talford press. At birth they found. The resilient children were More Alert and interested in their surroundings than the others. Al the age of 1, the children had a secure and warm relationship with their mothers an experience researchers believe May be particularly important in helping them recover from Abuso in later Fife even when that abuse comes from the Mother. By the age of 2, he More resilient toddlers most of whom were suffering abuse or neglect were nevertheless marked by a comparatively High degree of Independence an easygoing compliance enthusiasm and a High tolerance for frus Ira lion. And by 3 1/2, these children were More cheerful flexible and persistent than the others. Perhaps most Signi Mcanlly they also showed a Clear ability to seek help from adults. A major difference Between abused children who. As parents abuse their own children and those who do no is that i Hose who do not perpetuate the Cycle of abuse had a supportive relationship with he no abusing Parent according to Joan Kaufman and Edward Zigler psychologists a i Yale who punished their findings in an article in the american journal of Orthopsychiatry. One of to first efforts to identify Iha qualities that set resin enl children apart was begun Al the Wenninger foundation in Topeka in the 1950s, the project focused on examining the ways children handled stresses a divorce a move the illness of a Parent a they grew among he key traits of the More resilient children identified in thai study was the ability to recover quickly from i ip.sel.5, said Lois Barclay Murphy a psychologist Al the Menninger foundation. Being easygoing which makes children less Likely to become Upsel May also protect some children because in keeps them from being a target of their Parent s anger. Or. Michael Ruller. A psychiatrist at the Institute of psychiatry in London writing in a recent Issue of the american journal of Orthopsychiatry notes that children with Dill cult temperaments Are More Likley to become a Parent s Scapegoat than their More cheerful and malleable siblings. Rutler one of the pioneers of research on resilient children also reports Dala suggesting that in ale adolescence. The More successful children ind to plan rather than make snap decisions soft a Nupen Tolj Folh Dot pm a Duom Good what. Tatto Tygh no one Tratt a comr to Wiy Liucc i my nral Truh Mai wow cwt Mohanl Manx pm Pommon such As a part Lime Job or major chores despite a chaotic Home Lite. Socially adept panic Paieri in group activities. Plans rather than acting on impulse. I Betnun Noldy Tram disturbance. Able to Dolance self from emotional turmoil. Autonomous and confident a healthy scepticism finds adults for guidance and help when parents alter has a one Good relationship with at Leasi one adult. At least average academic skills but High social intelligence cd Momand enthusiastic. Seeks help from adults Elf clively. Flexible and persistent. But slow to anger. Tolerates frustration Wall in a disorderly household. Mother although the May become abusive or incapable later. At birth Loyar tuesday. November 10, 19b7 the stars and stripes Paga 17