NC Life Study

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How do we protect kids from harm and help them become well-adjusted adults?

Dr. Susan Ennett: Kids who have friendships that last, that they keep over the course of school years, are doing so much better across this wide range of indicators. That's one thing. We looked at all sorts of parental family factors. How the affectionate, close relationships versus conflictual relationships within the family... what sort of parenting did adolescents receive? Better or worse neighborhoods. We looked at "Did you grow up in a neighborhood where neighbors knew each other? they looked after each other? there was less crime going on? they cared about kids?" So for every potential risk that adolescents might have faced, we've got the other end of the poll, and then some unique attributes that speak to the important assets that kids might have had growing up that could offset negative things that might happen to them.