How do children deal with adversity? Some respond by developing enhanced abilities.

By Willem Frankenhaus.

How do adverse experiences, such as poverty or exposure to violence... affect children's psychological abilities.

Until recently, research was primarily guided by the view that adverse experiences tend to impair children's brain function in ways that undermine their abilities.

Investigating deficits that arise from adversity has led to vital discoveries that have helped to improve millions of lives.

However, researching only deficits misses the strategies and skills people develop to navigate challenging environments.