1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«[T]he current study aims to describe the prevalence of traumas and strengths in a representative sample of Quebec youth and to test whether poly-strengths is associated to low psychological distress, after considering poly-traumas.» (p. 23)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«Data for the current study were drawn from the Quebec Youths’ Romantic Relationships survey (QYRRS).» (p. 23) «The initial sample included 8,194 participants and the weighted sample resulted 6,531 youths aged 14-18 years. The weighted sample included more girls (57.9%) than boys (42.1%).» (p. 23)

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

From the questionnaires, «[t]wo categories of traumas were assessed (victimization and stressful life events) along with eight strengths.» (p. 24-25) «Results show that many youths […] experienced multiple traumas over their lifetime. Pertaining to the strengths, more than half of the sample possessed at least five strengths.» (p. 29) Regarding this study’s first objective, «[m]ore than half of the sample experienced two traumas in their lifetime. One youth out of ten was a victim of sexual abuse and more than a quarter witnessed violence or were physically assaulted by a family member. […] Although rates of traumas were high, the level of strengths reported were high as well. More than half of participants possessed strengths such as problem-focused coping, self-esteem, resiliency, academic achievement and parental support, the latter being the most prevalent.» (p. 30-31) Regarding the second objective, «[r]esults show that the construct of poly-strengths was associated with low levels of psychological distress and thus, having multiple strengths might be part of the process to achieve psychological well-being.» (p. 31) «In sum, the present study highlights that some adolescents have the capacity to thrive despite adversities. Analyzing factors associated with such a trajectory of resilience informs interventions.» (p. 33)