Introduction Research and evidence present strong association between adverse experiences of abuse and neglect in childhood with resilience. Exploring the resilient factors and why some children stand out despite early adverse experiences in childhood is essential, because it can children to develop their entire capacity. The main purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse the associations between child abuse and neglect and individual, relational, contextual factors in adolescents.

Method Representative retrospective two stage quota sample of 620 adolescents (university students) was applied in the study. The adolescents were first-and second-year university students recruited from the 12 faculties as of the main public university in the country ‘St Cyril and Methodius, Skopje’. The data were obtained using Adverse Childhood Experiences Study International Questionnaires for collecting information on child abuse and neglect, while the individual, relational and contextual resilient factors were measured using the Child and Youth Resilience Measure – Youth version. The study was conducted from February to May 2017. Statistical significance was set up at p<0.05.

Results The findings showed statistically significant negative correlation between individual (r=−0.159), relational (r=−0.263), and contextual factors (r=−0.147) and resilience in total (r=−0.232) with psychological abuse. The findings also confirmed statistically significant negative correlation between the individual (r=−0.194), relational (r=−0.224), contextual (r=−0.109) factors, and resilience in total (r=−0.215) with physical abuse. Findings confirmed statistically significant negative correlation between the individual (r=−0.125), relational (r=−0.228), contextual (r=−0.101) factors and resilience in total (r=−0.154) with neglect in childhood.

Conclusion Protective resilient factors on individual, relational, and contextual level in childhood are critical determinants that contribute to the development of resilience in young children and adolescents enabling safety and healthy growth for upcoming generations.