NCJ Number
210409
Journal
Trauma, Violence, & Abuse: A Review Journal Volume: 6 Issue: 3 Dated: July 2005 Pages: 195-216
Date Published
July 2005
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This review article develops an integrative model of resilience as it relates to trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Abstract
Previous research on traumatic stress syndromes and PTSD has determined that there is a wide spectrum of outcomes in how individuals cope with traumatic experiences. A review of the literature on trauma, PTSD, and resilience is undertaken in order to develop a conceptual model of trauma and resilience. A definition of resilience is gleaned from the research literature and findings from studies on resilience are analyzed. Early paradigms for analyzing resilience in children are considered; research findings underscore the importance of parenting in modeling appropriate and effective solutions to stress. The early research also stresses the importance of self-esteem and self-confidence as personality moderators of traumatic experiences. The advent of PTSD as a diagnostic entity caused a shift in the way resilience was researched; this shift involved the more in-depth study of trauma survivors as opposed to the traditional social-psychological studies of the past. The authors develop a model identifying the key variables that interact in the determination of resilient behavior following traumatic life experiences. The model represents a person-environment description of resiliency that incorporates perception, processing, and adaptation to traumatic stress. The variables interact in dynamic ways to produce a continuum of adaptive behavior and different degrees of resilient behavior following psychological trauma. Implications for practice are briefly considered. References