Resilience and Strengths Among Minoritized Racial and Ethnic Groups of Children in the United States Exposed to Trauma,Violence,and Maltreatment: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Children from minoritized racial and ethnic backgrounds are at a higher risk for exposure to trauma and violence because of longstanding structural inequities; yet, these children can experience resilience by drawing on assets and resources across multiple levels of the social and physical ecology. Guided by the Resilience Portfolio Model, this scoping review aimed to synthesize evidence from the quantitative and qualitative literature on strengths among minoritized racial and ethnic groups of children in the United States exposed to trauma, violence, and maltreatment. The review also explored similarities and differences in strengths across racial and ethnic groups. The inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed empirical articles published in the past decade (2013–2023), written in English, focused on U.S. children (ages 0–17 years) from minoritized racial and ethnic groups, and examined strengths and resilience in the context of trauma, violence, or maltreatment. Comprehensive literature searches were conducted using electronic databases. A total of 57 articles were included in the review. The review identified various regulatory, meaning-making, and interpersonal strengths, as well as combined strengths (i.e., a mixture of regulatory, meaning-making, or interpersonal strengths) among minoritized children. These findings illustrate the utility of the Resilience Portfolio Model in understanding both distinct and overlapping strengths across minoritized racial and ethnic groups. Our findings highlight the need for a more nuanced and expanded investigation of resilience, including the identification of culturally specific strengths, among minoritized racial and ethnic groups and subgroups of children.