engleski

Some aspects of individual resilience in relation to family resilience: college students perspective

Among others, resilience can be considered as the ability to use social-emotional skills to overcome, or bounce back from, the effects of stress in one’s life (Wright, 2013). Not many studies were focused on understanding relationship between family protective mechanisms and socio-emotional skills of youth exposed to a stress of entering college. During the second half of 2016, University of Zagreb, Faculty of Education and Rehabilitation Sciences has carried out the project “Research of the Relationship between Individual and Family Resilience”. The main aim of the project was to explore the contribution of the individual and family resilience to the developmental outcomes of college students. Aim of this paper is to determine the relationship between family protective mechanisms and socio-emotional skills perceived by 1st year college students (N=403). Also, specific contribution of gender, stress levels and family protective mechanisms (Family communication and problems solving, Family organization, Family belief system) on first year college students’ socio-emotional skills (Emotional awareness, Expression of emotion and Emotion regulation), will be examined. A study was conducted during December 2016 at three colleges of the University of Zagreb, Croatia. Instruments used for data gathering were: sociodemographic questionnaire involving question on stress level caused by entering college ; Family resilience assessment scale (Sixbey, 2005) and Questionnaire of socio- emotional competences (UEK-45, Takšić, 2002). The results of hierarchical linear regression have shown significant contribution of gender on self-reported emotional awareness of students in a way that female students report higher levels of emotional awareness. Also, we have found significant contribution of quality of family communication and problems solving to higher levels of self-reported expression of emotions skills of students. According to this study, a quality of family communication and problems solving just as family organization have significant contribution on higher levels of students emotion regulation skills. These results emphasize the importance of promoting family strengths and protective mechanisms in promoting socio-emotional skills of youth.

socio-emotional skills, family protective mechanisms, family resilience, stress, youth

The project is founded by University of Zagreb