Development and survival: a study of children at risk living in adverse psychosocial milieu.

The aim of this study is to describe the situation of children at risk in psychosocially disadvantageous milieus, how these children cope with their situation, and which survival strategies they do develop. A summary of longitudinal research in child development and epidemiology shows that the reasons for psychopathology are complex and multidimensional. What is not known is the very process in which the child forms his or her experiences and resources into a constructive or less constructive strategy for handling the forces that build up a stressful milieu. To penetrate and learn something from such a process a longitudinal study concerning 12 preschool children during a 4-year period, was designed. Methods used were Griffith's psychomotorical test, a behavior inquiry, case sheet notes, and interviews with children, their families and the staff involved. The result showed three girls developing mainly constructive (moderating) strategies, the other children demonstrated more or less destructive, outerdirected, or innerdirected patterns. All boys in the study demonstrate less constructive strategies.