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Article Excerpt
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that more than 40 per cent of Australian children moved their place of residence at least once in the Census period from 1996 to 2001 (ABS, 2001a). The literature varies in its assessment of the impact that this has on children. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between residential relocation, resilience and the emotional, behavioural and academic adjustment of children aged 8-12 years who had moved home. Risk factors and the relative impact of resilience were examined. Results highlight the importance of good schooling and suggest that building and enhancing the intellectual functioning of children is a vital component in the development of resilience. Different aspects of resilience may be important for different developmental stages and life stressors. We discuss the distinction between cause and effect when examining resilience factors and suggest that outcomes in one context may be treated as influences on outcomes in another context.
Keywords
relocation adjustment risk resilience children schooling
Introduction
Residential relocation
Australia's population has been reported to be one of the most mobile in the world (Long, 1992), and moving house has become an increasingly frequent part of most people's lives over the last 50 years. Figures from the ABS show that more than 40 per cent of all Australian children moved home at least once in the Census period from 1996 to 2001 (ABS, 2001a). In terms of total numbers, 1 810 578 children moved once during this time period and an additional 595 442 children moved two or more times. Of these, 49 per cent were between 8 and 12 years old. As a consequence, the interest in the impact that moving has had on children has increased.
Studies have identified numerous factors that contribute to the adjustment children make to this change in their lives with the aim of identifying interventions that may alleviate potential negative outcomes. Residential mobility can be studied both as an outcome or as a result of social factors, and as a possible cause of a variety of consequences. Results from studies in this field have been equivocal, primarily due to methodological differences: for example, in the means by which adjustment or moving are measured. Previous research findings have also been difficult to compare because they have focused on different variables that might affect children's adjustment to a move (for example, the number of moves, parental attitude towards the move or family composition).
Many of the early studies on the impact of moving home on children came out of the military, originally in the USA and later in Australia, with anecdotal concerns reaching government level and leading to various enquiries in an attempt to ameliorate the potential negative impacts of compulsory military moves (Hamilton, 1986; Kelly, 1988). Outcomes from military studies have tended to differ from those of other studies with fewer negative impacts being found (e.g., Marchant & Medway, 1987; Weber & Weber, 2005).
Although research on the impact that moving has on children is equivocal, there is an overall tendency towards a sliding scale of negative effects. Some factors found to have positive effects on adjustment have been the importance of a positive parental, particularly maternal, attitude towards the move (Linke, 2000; Marchant & Medway, 1987; Pedersen & Sullivan, 1964; Shaw, 1987; Sinetar, 1986; Stroh & Brett, 1990), fewer moves (Felner et al., 1981; Scanlon & Devine, 2001; Simpson & Fowler, 1994; Tucker et al., 1998; Wood et al., 1993), intact family composition (Nelson et al., 1996; Scanlon & Devine, 2001) and higher socioeconomic status (SES) (Pribesh & Downey, 1999; Wright, 1999). In addition, the most highly mobile children are often those from the lowest socio-economic backgrounds and are also often from single-parent families, with both of these factors having greater adverse impact on children's adjustment than the number of moves (Fields, 1995; Nelson et al., 1996; Scanlon & Devine, 2001; Tucker et al., 1998). Although these children were found to be adversely affected both academically and behaviourally, controlled studies indicated that these problems pre-dated their moves. As studies have only been carried out on school-age children, results may not be definitive, as they cannot account for moves pre-dating school attendance. Similarly, the finding that other variables have greater impact does not mean that moving had no adverse effects. Pribesh and Downey (1999, p. 531) were emphatic that, taking all else into consideration, 'moving itself matters' and they were unable to 'identify any group that consistently benefitted from moving'.
Resilience
There is a broad crossover between studies of resilience and those of children adjusting to moving home. As to be resilient automatically assumes that there has been exposure to risk, the variability in these risks then, in turn, has an impact on the definition of resilience. Kaplan (1999) suggests that, the greater the number of risk factors in a child's life, the greater the number of protective factors required to counterbalance them, although this is not a clear-cut relationship. Similarly, it is likely that those children who adapt best may be those with fewest risk factors. Relocation studies, despite their widely different methodologies, have consistently concluded that, as risk factors accumulate, the ability to adjust to the move diminishes. Resilience studies have also observed the importance of this cumulative risk (Heller et al., 1996; Kumpfer, 1999; Masten & Powell, 2003; Gilgun, 1999; Rutter, 2000; Smith & Prior, 1995; Wood et al., 1993).
While such aggregation provides a good prediction of outcome, it can obscure the more specific processes of stress or adaptation. Slee suggests that, although the presence of adverse social or economic situations may increase a child's vulnerability, 'from an early age, stress-resilient children possess attributes, skills and competencies that may help buffer them against the effect of significant life stress' (1995, p. 16).
Masten and Powell (2003) studied both additive (or compensatory) models and moderating models and their relationship to competence and resilience. In both models parenting quality, intellectual functioning and family socio-economic resources were consistently identified...
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