We strengthen the mental resilience of children and adolescents
What is mental resilience?
The same thing can be described in the language of difficulties or the language of possibilities.
We focus on the strengths, resources, and potential of young people.
What is mental
resilience?
Mental resilience is not a trait you are born with. It is a skill — similar to riding a bike. It can be practiced and strengthened at any age: at a school desk, at the family dinner table, and in any environment where a child is growing up. It includes: the ability to cope with stress and emotions, self-esteem, openness to new experiences, a positive outlook on the future, and the readiness to seek support when it is needed.
MENTAL RESILIENCE IS:
- the ability to cope with stress and emotions,
- self-esteem,
- openness to new experiences,
- looking to the future with optimism,
- seeking support when we need it.
Why is it worth strengthening, especially in foster care?
Children and teenagers who develop these skills navigate relationships better, take on challenges more easily, are able to talk about their feelings, and are less likely to resort to destructive ways of coping with difficulties.
- navigate relationships with others better,
- take on challenges more easily,
- are able to talk about their feelings and needs,
- are more self-confident and helpful toward others.
- show lower levels of depressive symptoms and a lower tendency toward problematic behaviors,
- are less likely to turn to psychoactive substances.
Why
do we conduct studies?
We want to understand what is already working — and how it can be strengthened. This study is a diagnostic tool, but also an inspiration for action. We are carrying it out in two environments: in schools and in foster families. The same potential, two different starting points.
- schools and families learn about the strengths and needs of their children,
- receive ready-to-use tools to support the development of resilience,
- can implement actions that have a real impact on the well-being of the entire environment,
- become part of a network of schools sharing best practices, building the foundation of the SKILLFUL SCHOOLS program, and foster families associated with the SKILLFUL FAMILY program.
Join the study
We are conducting two mental resilience studies: one for schools and one for children and adults in foster families.
We are examining the same aspect of life: the ability to cope, seek support, and bounce back after difficult moments.
We are doing this in two different environments and from two different starting points.
I am from a school or work with children in an educational institution
A nationwide study on the mental resilience of students aged 10–18. Free, anonymous, and accredited by the Bioethics Committee of the AWF in Katowice.
I am a foster parent,
or I work in foster care.
A nationwide study on the mental resilience of students aged 10–18. Free, anonymous, and accredited by the Bioethics Committee of the AWF in Katowice.
Because every child has potential. Let’s help them discover and develop it.
Every day, children and adolescents learn to cope with change, emotions, and challenges in their relationships and at school.
What helps them most is mental resilience—the ability to find inner strength, seek solutions, and bounce back even after difficult moments.
And this is exactly the skill we want to support and develop.
That is why we are launching a new edition of our mental resilience study in Polish schools and foster families.
Study approved by the Bioethics Committee of the AWF in Katowice
We are pleased to announce that our nationwide study on the mental resilience of children and adolescents has received a positive opinion from the Bioethics Committee of the Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education in Katowice.
This means the project has been assessed as compliant with current ethical and substantive standards for conducting research involving minor participants. This confirms that both the methodology and the way the study is conducted guarantee the safety, anonymity, and respect for the rights of all students participating in the project.
We thank the AWF Bioethics Committee for their trust, as well as all our partners and schools for their cooperation.
Together, we are creating a reliable, valuable, and ethical study that will help us better understand the needs of young people in our region.
Research partners
Information activities supported by
Contact
For questions regarding the organization of the study, please contact
Magdalena Tylska
Customer Service Specialist at the ULICA Foundation
For questions regarding the research methodology, please contact the study director
Agata Gemser-Wrębiak
Director of the Motivational and Preventive Center
biuro@fundacjaulica.pl
Tel. +48 512 577 677
agata@fundacjaulica.pl
Tel. + 48 453 389 717
Study sponsors
The study was financed by the National Institute of Freedom – Centre for Civil Society Development under the government program Fund for Civic Initiatives NOWEFIO for the years 2021-2023
The study and recommendation report are co-financed by the Foundation's strategic partner, Neo Energy Group.