Are there protective factors that can strike down the resiliency of abused children?
David Finkelhor: Absolutely. Having a person in the child`s life who he feels close to, who believes in him, who he can trust, makes an enormous difference. That person can be someone at school or someone in their family. Kids who have some talent or ability that has been nurtured and that makes them feel valued tend to be much more resilient. Schools can help to nurture those talents through sports, music, art and other opportunities to develop each student`s unique gifts. GC: How can the school staff help students to overcome the trauma of abuse? David Finkelhor: There are several ways schools can help. First of all, school staff and educators identify more child maltreatment cases than any other group. So continuing to notice kids who might be at risk and alerting the child protective system is a crucial function. We need to know kids are being abused if we are going to help them. Schools can also help kids to overcome the trauma of abuse by providing opportunities for these student
