Social Competence, Family Resilience, Positive School Climate, and Connectedness Support Resilience in the Context of Parental Incarceration

The contribution of various risk and protective factors in shaping resilience among adolescents of incarcerated parents could be better understood using a socio-ecological perspective. The present study explores the factors that contribute to psychological resilience among adolescents of incarcerated parents. The participants in this study were recruited based on a survey conducted among 155 adolescents of incarcerated parents who completed Bharathiar University Resilience Scale (BURS). From these 155 respondents, 12 respondents who obtained the top 12 ranks based on their BURS scores representing the highly resilient, and 12 adolescents who obtained the last 12 ranks based on their BURS scores representing the less resilient were recruited to participate in the study. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 24 participants. Thematic analysis was carried out to analyze the data. The findings of the study show that both high and less resilient individuals use protective factors, namely social competence, family resilience, positive school climate, and connectedness with extended family, neighbours and NGOs, to mitigate the effects of risk factors at the individual, family, school, and community levels. The findings of this study can be used to inform policies, practices, and research to promote resilience in adolescents of incarcerated parents.