Rethinking Resilience: "The Paradox of Effort"

Donielle Prince 7/17/155:38 PM

This terrifying research points to yet another reason that it is critical to reboot and rebuild how our communities function.

"...people with the most self-control and resilience have the highest likelihood of defying odds—poverty, bad schools, unsafe communities—and going on to achieve much academically and professionally. Except that even when that is possible, those children seem to age rapidly during the process.

That is, their cells visibly age before their time (based on DNA methylation) among other undesirable effects on the body, according to research published this week from Northwestern University and the University of Georgia. Meanwhile the opposite effect is seen in high-achieving people from highly advantaged backgrounds, where achievement goes hand-in-hand with health. ...

There seems to be a health cost to self-control and/or to the successes that it enables. ...

... Only in the disadvantaged communities does this paradox exist: good outcomes on the behavioral/educational/psychosocial side, but apparently at a cost to physical health. ...

“It's the extreme unfairness of the circumstances in which people find themselves that's problematic, not the self-control.”

Read more here:
http://www.theatlantic.com/hea...ard-mobility/398486/

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Donielle PrinceMember

One of the things that I appreciated from this research, is the researcher who acknowledged that it isn't that self-control/persistent attitude that is a "problem", but the circumstances. The good thing is, we can act on circumstances. With this research in mind, clearly we need to be providing far more supports when we know someone is "first generation" college student. This research helps provide a policy, and hopefully funding, imperative to support high achievers from a disadvantaged background. In some ways in might just be a ramping up of existing kinds of programs. I know most college do have programs for first gens, but maybe more work needs to be done to connect all students who need it to these programs.

Originally Posted by Christine Cissy White:

This was fascinating research but it makes so much sense.

I think that's why it's called breaking the cycle both for violence and for poverty. It's force, effort and will and there are losses even in upward mobility of types we associate as all "good."

I know from being the first in my family to go to therapy and get a college degree - how much there's loss of familiarity in where one is from and how much one can feel like a stranger in the new place. Even if and when the new place is safer, better and has more opportunities. I love this research speaking to this and acknowledging it and I KNOW my early menopause was pre-mature aging from stress. It happened YEARS earlier than anyone in my family. There are of course advantages to advantage but there are stresses and costs as well.

Cissy

Originally Posted by Donielle Prince:

7/20/1510:21 AM

Mem LangMember

Yes, not a big surprise really, but good to see yet again science confirming what we intrinsically and logically know... Not great news for those trying for something better - may be more physical co-morbidities and/or die earlier etc but may leave your family in a better/healthier state than what you had! Hmm...

7/19/1510:56 PM

Christine Cissy WhiteIt's not trauma-informed unless it's informed by trauma survivors.

This was fascinating research but it makes so much sense.

I think that's why it's called breaking the cycle both for violence and for poverty. It's force, effort and will and there are losses even in upward mobility of types we associate as all "good."

Cissy

Originally Posted by Donielle Prince:

7/19/155:38 AM

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