Article reviewed
Article Reviewed: Ann S. Masten, Karin M. Best and Norman Garmezy
“Resilience and development: Contributions from
the study of children who overcome adversity”
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 2 , Issue 4 , October 1990 , pp. 425 – 444
Cambridge University Press published the article, “Resilience and development: Contributions
from the study of children who overcome adversity”, by Ann S. Masten, Karin M. Best and
Norman Garmezy which aims to evaluate resilience research in order to determine its importance
and capability for understanding normal development. The research question being addressed is
that how can the study of children who overcome adversity can aid in resilience and
development.
There were three resilience phenomena evaluated according to the abstract, which are crucial in
achieving non-theoretical outcomes.But rather than providing relevant literature regarding the
subject to engage the readers, the authors begins by spitting out their aims for this piece. It was
followed by an appreciation section, which complicated the article’s structure making it difficult
to follow as you read. The way they utilize language is inefficient; they frequently employ
profound English terms that are difficult to comprehend.
The manner in which they suggested that successful adaptation notwithstanding the odds against
excellent development is referred to as “out of risk research.” Is very clearly unclear. Risk factors
are frequently discovered retrospectively, such as when victims of toxic shock syndrome were
shown to have higher rates of using specific types of tampons, or when low-achieving children
were discovered to have greater rates of prenatal brain injury and underprivileged parents. In
truth, prospective studies frequently confirm an overall risk effect, i.e., the risk group has more
issues; nevertheless, such investigations frequently uncover variation in outcomes, including a
group of children that grow well.
Overall, the piece is well-written, and the title accurately conveys the content’s context. The only
thing that worries me is the complexity of the articles’s structure. A stronger, more concise
introduction is required to keep readers involved and read the entire essay. They should also keep
track of the meaningful phrases they utilized so that the reader is not bored.
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