Cumulative Risk Factors and Family Relationship Quality in Understanding Turkish Emerging Adults’ Resilience

Abstract

As a developmental turning point, emerging adulthood has been a recent focus for researchers investigating both resilience and psychopathology. The aim of this study was to examine the roles of negative experiences and the nature of the relationship with parents and siblings in the resilience of college students as emerging adults. The study group included Turkish college students as emerging adults (199 females and 101 males) who lived apart from their parents, had at least one sibling and had experienced at least one negative event. Data were collected from Child and Youth Resilience, Adverse Life Events Form, Parent–Adolescent Relationship Scale, and Lifespan Sibling Relationship Scale. Hierarchical regression analysis was performed to determine the extent to which the independent variables explained the resilience variance. The results revealed that negative life experiences were significant factors in explaining resilience. Moreover, neither a positive nor a negative relationship with the mother had an effect on explaining the resilience, while a positive relationship with the father was an important factor in explaining resilience. Meantime, the role of protective factors in terms of family relationships and the quality of sibling relationships sustained in this period were significant relational strengths for resilience. All these results are considered to be significant contributions to the culturally meaningful family functionality and the resilience of college students as emerging adults.