Interventions to build resilience among young people A literature review

Attachment and Bio-behavioral Catch-up (ABC) – designed to help caregivers facilitate
healthy regulation of their child’s behavioural and stress responses, by teaching caregivers
to be highly responsive to the child’s emotions and increasing caregivers’ provision of
nurturing care and promotion of attachment security.
Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care for Preschoolers (MTFC-P) – uses a behaviour
management approach and intensively trains, supervises and supports foster caregivers to
provide positive adult support and consistent limit setting.
Bucharest Early Intervention Project (BEIP) – foster caregivers received ongoing support
from social workers in managing challenging behaviour, encouraging child-centred parenting
and organising a support group. The intervention was focused on developing attachment
relationships, facilitating language development and providing foster parents with
techniques for managing difficult child behaviour.
Specific middle childhood interventions producing positive outcomes include:
Incredible Years (IY) – modified version incorporated a co-parenting component between
foster and biological caregivers to expand their knowledge of each other and their child,
practice open communication and negotiate inter-parental conflict (regarding family
visitation, family routines and discipline)
Keeping Foster Parents Trained and Supported (KEEP) – training, supervision and support to
foster parents in applying behaviour management strategies
Middle School Success (MSS) – derivative of KEEP specifically targeting youth exiting primary
school. Foster caregiver sessions were group based and behaviour management oriented;
youth sessions were group based (summer) and individually based (school year) and were
oriented toward skill building
Fostering Individualized Assistance Program (FIAP) – focused on wrapping services around
the child based on their individual and family needs with the goal of improving placement
stability and reducing behaviour and emotional problems. Intervention had four
components: strength-based assessment, life-domain planning, clinical case management
and follow-along supports and services.
One adolescent intervention was reported to produce positive outcomes:
Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care for Adolescents (MTFC-A) – multicomponent
program that involves individual placement (for six to nine months) with a specialised foster
family (i.e. intensively trained, supervised and supported to provide positive adult support
and mentoring, close supervision and consistent limit setting).
Stewart and Wang’s (2012) review, ranked as low quality, focused on the Health-Promoting School
(HPS) approach, the precise details of which are unclear. However, the authors indicate that the
approach is holistic, integrating health into the curriculum; underpinned by Bronfenbrenner’s (1989)
ecological theory; and supported by the World Health Organization. HPS also recognises the
significance of school-based health policies, links with health services and partnerships between the
school, the family and community. The authors conclude that the evidence related to HPS is limited
but promising.
Brunwasser et al. (2009) conducted a moderate quality meta-analysis of the Penn Resiliency
Program (PRP), which is one of the most widely researched depression prevention programs and is
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