Background: The processes involved in this study were 2-fold. First, we analyzed the levels of resilience and internalized problems (defined as group of emotional symptoms) in children aged 9 to 12 years. Second, we examined whether the relationship between them varies according to the low or high vulnerability of school communities.
Methods: About 1460 students from schools in northern Chile participated. A total of 52.6% were girls, and 47.4% were boys. The scales of internalizing problems of the System of Evaluation of Children and Adolescents (SENA) and the short scale of resilience (CYRM-12) were applied. Correlations in each group and differences between groups were analyzed using a MANOVA. A 2-level path analysis was also performed.
Results: Resilience was higher in the context of low vulnerability while depression, social anxiety, and posttraumatic stress symptomatology were greater in the context of high vulnerability. A 2-level path analysis showed that the slope of gender, anxiety, and depression symptomatology varies between schools and an interaction effect between vulnerability and anxiety symptomatology.
Conclusion: There are differences in the relationship between internalized problems and resilience according to whether the students belong to low or high vulnerability establishments. This study contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between internalizing problems and resilience.
Keywords: childhood; internalizing problems; resilience; school context; vulnerability.
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