IMPLICATIONS

1. INTRODUCTION PROBLEM SUBJECTS As the need for orphanages increases worldwide, well-meaning NGO’s seek to care for abandoned children, yet without the financial and governmental support necessary to encourage resilience and positive youth outcomes. The kids are placed in limbo until they age out in their teens just to return to the streets. I represent one of those well-meaning NGO’s and know first hand that the lack of resources dictates the quality of care we are able to provide. Creating an evidence based program designedto promote resiliency factors and positive youth out- comes with limited resources is the primary goal of this empirical study. Before/In Orphan Care • Social violence, child exploitation and instability increasing across the globe. • Need for orphanages increasing worldwide. • Emergent and third world countries unprepared to address this social need. • Emergent and third world orphanages age out youth unprepared to thrive in society. • Youth return to the streets to contribute to social violence, child exploitation and instability across the globe. 27 institutionalized youth placed at the Davis Lar Orphanage in Fortaleza, Brazil, due to abuse, exploitation, abandonment or neglect. The subjects will be separated into two groups for intervention: male and female. Operation Phoenix:Improving resiliency factors of institutionalized youth in emergent and third world countries.K. Paige AndersonClemson University, Youth Development Leadership PURPOSE Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate a possible correlation between a 10 week group intervention and increased resiliency scores in institutionalized youth residing at the Davis Lar Orphanage in Fortaleza, Brazil. Main research questions: Will directed group interaction promoting positive youth development and life skills improve individual, relational and contextual resiliency factors in institutionalized youth in emergent and third world orphanages?Is it possible to increase resiliency factors in institutionalized youth across cultures? INTERVENTION Operation Phoenix, a ten week/two hour per week intervention, has been modeled after Family Solutions, a multiple family group program for at risk children developed by Dr. William Quinn (2004). Operation Phoenix is intended to directly affect individual, relational (caregiver) and contextual resilience scores in subjects. LITERATURE REVIEW MIXED METHOD DESIGN Resilience: The capacity of an individual to navigate their way to health enhancing resources and the capacity of the individuals’ physical and social ecologies to provide those resources (Ungar, et al., 2008). Parents absent: Children whose parents are absent have been denied a valuable resiliency promoting resource (Ungar, 2004). Orphan: Defined as a child without protection, position, or care, orphans are a growing demographic in emergent and third world countries (Bhat, 2010; Camfield, 2001; Wolfe & Fesseha, 1999). Negative youth outcomes: Odds are that children and youth residing in emergent/ third world orphanages will experience psychopathology and a spectrum of behavior problems (Sigal, et al, 2003). Positive effects possible: Humane social environments for large groups of orphans that foster positive youth development can be intentionally created with very limited resources (Wolfe & Fesseha, 1998; Gibbons, 2005). Resiliency-related beliefs: Cultural and social resilience beliefs are a predictor of positive child/youth development (Lee, et al., 2009). Resiliency can be encouraged: Intervention promoting improved resilience factors and positive youth development is possible (Ungar, 2008; Quinn, 2004). Evidence based study: Orphanage residents in emergent and third world orphanages often undergo little study, even though they are an increasing demographic (Wolfe & Fesseha, 1998). This study acknowledges the lack of systematic empirical studies assessing the improvement of resiliency factors in emergent and third-world institutionalized youth and seeks to fill the gap. Design Strategy: A sequential -explanatory mixed method strategy. Quantitative: Using a pre-test/post-test design, The Child and Youth Resilience Measure-28 (CYRM-28), developed to measure resilience in youth across cultures, is being used to assess resiliency factors in subjects. Qualitative: Using grounded theory data analysis, interviews consisting of catalyst questions and subsequent coding will be used to confirm data analysis and interpretation of quantitative data. Traffic Jam Gumdrop Tower IMPLICATIONS If the results of this study support the assumption of increased resiliency factors, a model of group intervention promoting positive youth outcomes for institutionalized youth across cultures can be developed, focusing on emergent and third world orphanages. Davis Lar, Brazil Sudan Romania China