Open Access Maced J Med Sci electronic publication ahead of print, published on June 17, 2018 as https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2018.272 _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 1 ID Design Press, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences. https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2018.272 eISSN: 1857-9655 Public Health Are Resilient Factors Increasing the Risk for Childhood Psychological Victimization? Dimitrinka Jordanova-Peshevska 1* , Fimka Tozija 2 1 Faculty of Political Science and Psychology, University American College, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia; 2 Institute of Public Health of Republic of Macedonia, Medical Faculty, Ss Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia Citation: Jordanova-Peshevska D, Tozija F. Are Resilient Factors Increasing the Risk for Childhood Psychological Victimization? Open Access Maced J Med Sci. https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2018.272 Keywords: psychological abuse; risk factors; resilience; adolescents *Correspondence: Dimitrinka Jordanova-Peshevska. Faculty of Political Science and Psychology, University American College, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia. E- mail: jordanovapesevskad@gmail.com Received: 17-May-2018; Revised: 04-Jun-2018; Accepted: 06-Jun-2018; Online first: 17-Jun-2018 Copyright: © 2018 Dimitrinka Jordanova-Peshevska, Fimka Tozija. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) Funding: This research did not receive any financial support Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist Abstract BACKGROUND: Understanding the resilient factors and why some children do well despite early adverse experiences is crucial, because it can inform more effective policies and programs that help more children reach their full potential. AIM: The main objective of the study is to describe the associations between psychological abuse in childhood and resilient risk factors on individual, relational, contextual level among adolescents in the country and see the probability of resiliency to predict psychological victimisation. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Cross-sectional study on two-stage quota sample of 622 university students was applied in the study, including adolescents at first and second year at the main public Ss Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, from the 12 faculties in the country. Adverse Childhood Experiences Study International Questionnaires was used for collecting information on psychological abuse, while the individual, relational and contextual resilient factors were measured using the Child аnd Youth Resilience Measure - Youth version. The study was conducted from March to September 2017. Statistical significance was set up at P < 0.05. RESULTS: The results from the study have shown statistically significant negative correlation between exposure to psychological abuse in childhood and individual (rpb = -0.159), relational (rpb = -0.263), contextual factors (rpb = -0.147), and resilience in total (rpb = -0.232). The regressive model presents that 5.2% of the variance of the variable experienced psychological abuse is explained with resilience (F(1, 527) = 28.909; P < 0.001), showing that resilience is negatively significant predictor for being psychologically abused in childhood (β = -0.228; t = - 5.377; P < 0.001). The regressive model explains the individual contribution of the predictor variables for the psychological abuse, presenting that only caregiver resiliency is a significant predictor for psychological abuse (β = -0.282; t = -4.986; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Supporting children through prevention means foster competence and prevent problems. Preventive programmes represent developing protective factors in childhood, increasing competence and skills for the growth of resilience and decreasing the likelihood of developing psychopathology in adolescence and adulthood. It is of common interest of society for implementation of evidence-based interventions with fostering settings and in the long run enabling positive childhood basis for future generations. Introduction Epidemiological evidence links adverse experiences of abuse and neglect in childhood with resilience. Understanding the resilient factors [1] [2] [3] and why some children do well despite adverse early experiences is crucial, because it can inform more effective policies and programs that help more children reach their full potential. The most influential study of Garmezy, 1970 conducted on children living with a schizophrenic parent, established a foundation for the study of resilience [4]. For the first time, he introduced the term "protective factors" that help individuals to overcome the negative effect of adverse experiences, resulting in positive development [2]. According to the findings of his research, although children living with a schizophrenic parent increases the risk of developing illnesses, an incredible 90% of children in this study do not develop the disease [4]. Researchers began to present findings that speak of positive results that can be achieved despite the negative life events and