Elder once summarized his findings this way: “There is a storyline across all the work I’ve done. Events do not have meaning in themselves. Those meanings are derived from the interactions between people, groups, and the experience itself. Kids who went through very difficult circumstances usually came out rather well.”41 Elder found that a lot hinged on the family and the person’s degree of social integration: Children as well as adults who weathered crises while embedded within strong social groups and networks fared much better; they were more likely to come out stronger and mentally
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