| This study explored qualitatively and quantitatively the resilient strategies of 8 female adolescents living in a residential treatment center on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. In free-writing exercises and focus group discussions, participants were encouraged to describe in their own words experiences they perceived as representative of their resilient abilities. Case history reviews of the participants' charts clarified themes identified during the exercises and discussion groups. The Adolescent Resilient Screening Instrument (ARSI) measured the participants' perceived resiliency. The results of this study indicated that despite their "problematic" histories (i.e., law violations, drug use, running away), the participants demonstrated resiliency consistent with hopefulness, wisdom, and fortitude. However, this resiliency was colored by protective strategies of survival---specifically, insulation and isolation. The scores from the ARSI revealed that the participants for the most part perceived themselves as using good to optimum resilient strategies. By themselves, the ARSI scores were misleading because they did not detect potentially harmful responses that were ascertained through the qualitative analysis. When analyzed together, the qualitative and quantitative data revealed numerous protective strategies as well as underlying strengths unique to these participants, including the fortitude to survive amidst danger, the wisdom to create ways to survive, and the hopefulness demonstrated by an insatiable drive for survival. If challenged from a strength-based perspective, these protective strategies of survival could assist the participants in making successful transitions into adulthood. |
