Definition
The term "at-risk" is typically applied to youth experiencing hardships such as physical illness, the death of a parent, family dysfunction, war, illness, poverty, racism, violence and other similar factors. It has emerged from the field of medicine. Extending the germ theory of disease from the body to the mind, "at-risk thinking" sees hardship as a cause of psychological illness.
We have called the "at-risk" label and the emphasis on pathology and deficits associated with it the Damage Model. It is represented in the diagram below.
The Damage Model portrays children as helpless and vulnerable. From the perspective of this model, the best that children of hardship can do is cope by containing the toxic effects of hardship. Over time, however, coping takes its toll, leaving children with lasting symptoms and pathology.
While there is truth to the Damage Model that cannot be denied, we see it as a formulation that is one-sided and out-of-balance. A fuller and more even-handed account of the effects of hardship on children starts at the same place as the Damage Model but then expands to include the learning and growth that can result from struggling with hardship. We call this account the Challenge Model.
In the Challenge Model, two forces are at work as children interact with the troubles in their lives. Troubles are seen as a danger to children and also as an opportunity. Children are vulnerable to the toxic influence of hardship, but they are also challenged to rebound from harm by experimenting, branching out, and developing their own resources. Over time, these self-protective behaviors develop into lasting strengths that we have called resiliencies.