Building Resilience in Vulnerable Youth

This report is based on the 2003 Adolescent Health Survey (AHS). AHS is a large-cale survey of grades 7-12. The AHS is a large-scale survey conducted in grades 7-12 in British Columbia. This report focuses specifically on "vulnerable youth" (those who have experienced abuse and those who have had challenging, unstable home life). The report describes an array of health risks and challenges facing vulnerable youth. It identifies a number of "protective factors" in youth health, including: the existence of family support and a sense of connectedness to family and people at school; feeling safe and welcome at school; having friends who have healthy attitudes about risk behaviours; and spending time with parents, in the home, at key times in the day. The report concludes with recommendations for school and community interventions that help promote these protective factors in the lives of vulnerable youth.