Presenter

Aizle Bernardo, Department of Psychology, University of Alberta

Abstract

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” — Kahlil Gibran. Resilience or the ability to adapt and function successfully in the face of adversity has often times been linked to executive functioning; this latter encompasses the higher-order cognitive processes that allow us to achieve our goals. However, the relationship between resilience and EF is still poorly understood, particularly in younger children. In preschool children, the most important age-salient indicators of resilience are problem solving skills, emotion regulation, and prosocial behavior. This study aims to further the understanding regarding the relationship between resilience and EF. This will be done by looking at a sample of 151 mother-children dyads who participated in a study of prenatal tobacco exposure, then assessed when the children were 3 years of age. We identified children who were high in resilience based on parent ratings of emotion regulation, social functioning and parent-reported exposure to stress. Then, we investigated if resilience correlated with EF performance. A better understanding of the mechanisms that may contribute to children’s resilience is imperative in a progressing, often unpredictable world that calls for greater human agency.

Poster

Authors & Affiliations

A. N. C. Bernardo (Psychology Department, University of Alberta) & S. Wiebe (Psychology Department, University of Alberta)