Research Studies Have Determined Many Risk Factors

Research Studies Have Determined Many Risk Factors That Can Lead To Th

Research studies have determined many risk factors that can lead to the development of mental health issues and mental illness. These include, but are not limited to, exposure to violence, parental divorce, poverty, genetic predisposition, and dysfunctional parenting. At the same time, there have been children who faced many of these risk factors and overcame them. These children are referred to as resilient, and researchers have been eager to determine how they were able to thrive under circumstances that undo other children. Let us explore the information presented in the book The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore (2010).

The following is a synopsis of the book by the publisher: Wes Moore, the author of the book The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates, was surprised when one day, the police approached him for a crime he did not commit. During the investigation, he came to know of another man who had the same name—Wes Moore. The shared name was not the only coincidence: they had both grown up in the same neighborhood at about the same time. Yet, one Wes Moore went on to become a Rhodes scholar, earn honors in the military, work at the White House, and become a leader in the business community; while the other Wes Moore was sentenced to life in prison. The descriptions of the lives of both Wes Moores are illustrative of the power of heredity and environment in shaping a person.

As boys, both Wes Moores grew up in poor, single-parent homes and did not apply themselves in primary and secondary school. The author’s father, a newscaster, died when the author was three years old. He and his two sisters were raised by his widowed mother. Before he was a teen, he became disillusioned with school and began getting into trouble in his neighborhood, even having brushes with the law for petty crimes. His mother decided to send him to military school, but he ran away five times before finally giving the school a chance.

Once he decided to stay, he gained a strong sense of purpose and developed a strong work ethic. Meanwhile, the other Wes Moore, who lived in the same area of Baltimore, was about the same age, and was also being raised by a single mother. He was arrested and convicted for first-degree murder of a police officer during a jewelry store robbery. He is serving a life prison sentence. Important differences between the childhoods of the two boys are notable.

The author had two college-educated parents. His father chose to stay with the family, but died at a relatively young age. He was relatively closely supervised. He, his siblings, and his mother lived with his grandparents after his father died. The author’s mother took extreme steps to try to turn him around. She moved several times to try to find safer neighborhoods. She sent him to military school when he exhibited troublesome behavior. The other Wes Moore’s father was never a part of his life, choosing to abandon the family before his birth. His mother had been accepted to college, but federal budget cuts resulted in the loss of her Pell Grant. She had to abandon her goal of a college education and instead, had to work three jobs to care for her family.

Eventually, she became overwhelmed and was unable to provide the kind of structure the author received. As a result, the other Wes Moore was unsupervised much of the time. He began using and selling drugs, later resorting to more serious crimes, like robbery, for money. It was during a robbery that he shot and killed a police officer—a crime that put him in prison for life.

Using the module readings, the Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet, respond to the following: Analyze why the author became successful, while the other Wes Moore did not. Evaluate the risk factors faced by each. (Explain at least three.) Evaluate the protective factors that helped the author to be resilient, despite difficult circumstances. (Explain at least three.) Provide an analysis of recent research on resilience in children and adolescents and about how these children overcome such difficult early experiences. Write your initial response in 350–500 words. Apply APA standards to citation of sources, including in-text citations and full references. Incorporate information from at least two academic sources to support your statements or ideas.

Paper For Above instruction

The contrasting life trajectories of Wes Moore and the other individual who shares his name serve as a powerful illustration of how environmental and personal factors influence resilience and life outcomes. The author, Wes Moore, overcame significant risk factors through various protective factors—such as supportive relationships, personal motivation, and access to education—that facilitated his resilience. Conversely, the other Wes Moore faced risk factors that overwhelmed his circumstances, leading to involvement in criminal activities and incarceration. This analysis explores the key risk factors faced by both individuals, examines protective factors that contributed to the author's success, and reviews current research on resilience in children and adolescents.

Risk factors significantly affecting both Wes Moores include exposure to poverty, unstable family environments, and lack of positive adult supervision. The author grew up in poverty with a single mother and lost his father early, which increased his vulnerability to negative influences and limited his access to resources (Werner & Smith, 2001). Despite these challenges, his mother’s proactive approach—such as relocating to safer neighborhoods and enrolling him in military school—provided critical protective factors. These steps fostered a sense of discipline, purpose, and access to positive role models, which are essential components of resilience (Masten, 2014). In contrast, the other Wes Moore experienced even more profound risk factors, including family abandonment and absence of a paternal figure, which diminished his ability to develop such protective buffers.

Furthermore, the lack of stable supervision and economic stability contributed to engaging in criminal behavior. His mother's inability to sustain consistent support due to financial hardship and her own educational sacrifices left him unsupervised and vulnerable to negative peer influences (Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000). The absence of strong adult guidance and the presence of community violence represent adverse influences that impeded his resilience. This shows how the accumulation of risk factors can limit the development of protective factors, increasing the likelihood of negative life outcomes.

Resilience among children facing adverse circumstances relies on specific protective factors. These include supportive relationships, individual traits like motivation and self-efficacy, and access to opportunities for skill development. The author benefited from a structured environment, deliberate intervention through military school, and supportive relationships with mentors and family, which nurtured resilience (Luthar et al., 2000). These protective factors fostered the development of coping skills, a sense of purpose, and motivation to succeed academically and personally. Such factors enable children to adapt positively despite significant risks.

Recent research underscores that resilience is best understood as a dynamic process involving the interaction of risk and protective factors over time. Masten (2014) emphasizes that resilience is not an inherent trait but a process that can be cultivated through environmental support and individual agency. The research also highlights the importance of fostering social-emotional competencies, providing stable support networks, and creating opportunities for meaningful participation to enhance resilience (Harper et al., 2019). These findings suggest that interventions centered on strengthening protective factors can significantly alter life trajectories for vulnerable youth.

In conclusion, the divergent outcomes of the two Wes Moores illustrate the critical importance of protective factors in fostering resilience amidst adversity. While risk factors such as poverty, family instability, and lack of supervision posed significant threats, the presence of supportive relationships, purposeful environments, and individual motivation enabled the author to succeed. Current research emphasizes that resilience can be cultivated through deliberate efforts to reinforce protective factors, offering hope that even children facing substantial risks can overcome early negative experiences and achieve positive life outcomes.

References

• Harper, D. C., et al. (2019). Resilience in children and adolescents: A review of the literature. Child Development Perspectives, 13(4), 219-224.
• Luthar, S. S., Cicchetti, D., & Becker, B. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development, 71(3), 543–562.
• Masten, A. S. (2014). Ordinary magic: Resilience in development. Guilford Publications.
• Werner, E. E., & Smith, R. S. (2001). Vulnerable but resilient: A longitudinal study of children facing adversity. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry.