Resilience and Self-Regulation: A Study of Spanish Youth at Risk of Social Exclusion

This research summary was developed by Pathways to Education.

HERE’S HOW THE AUTHORS DESCRIBE THIS RESEARCH SUMMARY:

Social exclusion refers to the extent to which one lacks a place in society. One of the main risk factors associated with social exclusion is not completing one’s education, as this can impede access to the labour market. In order to decrease the risk of social exclusion it is important to better understand how people can develop resilience. Self-regulation is a primary aspect of the resilient personality, and it has also been associated with good academic performance.

The objectives of this study were to: 1) Examine any associations between scores in resilience and in self-regulation, and identify which self-regulation factor is most associated with and predictive of resilience; 2) Determine the interdependent relationship between levels (high, medium, and low) of self-regulation and resilience.

365 Spanish students enrolled in Initial Vocational Qualification Programs (IVQPs) participated in the study. IVQPs are preventive programs for students who have not completed compulsory secondary education. All 365 students completed a measure of self-regulation and resilience.

Linear association analyses and non-linear interdependence analyses showed that an aspect of self-regulation (learning from mistakes) predicted several aspects of resilience, and that low, medium, and high levels of each construct were correlated. These results contribute to the theoretical knowledge and measurement of self-regulation and resilience, and also have implications for education and positive youth development.

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