Resilience and responses to the experience of trauma – a fascinating but difficult study area
Journal Title: Psychiatria Polska - Year 2014, Vol 48, Issue 3
Abstract
The notion of resilience, which attempts to explain the phenomenon of positive adaptation (coping) of people exposed to adversities or traumatic events, is becoming a significant area of research in Poland. It is a complex and multidimensional notion, on the borderline between genetics, neurophysiology, anthropology of culture, sociology, medicine, political science, developmental psychology and psychiatry. The phenomenon of resilience is interactive (as it combines the experience of trauma with adaptation to it), it is difficult to measure and it raises serious methodological concerns. They tend to be so significant that some researchers consider resilience to be a construct of dubious scientific value. Such a view seems to be overly critical, however it indicates the magnitude of methodological difficulties. This article discusses some of them: problems with definitions and terminology, measurement difficulties associated with the interactive nature of resilience, the need to search for complex interactions between biological, psychological, social and environmental factors (rather than overly simplistic focus on individual factors which support good adaptation). The methodological issues have been divided into the following research areas: the nature of traumatic experiences, response to trauma, factors which impact the reporting of the reaction to trauma, developmental problem.
Authors and Affiliations
Krzysztof Szwajca
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP105433
- DOI -
- Views 118
- Downloads 0
W poszukiwaniu przyczyn zaburzeń ze spektrum autyzmu – neuroobrazowanie funkcjonalne (część II)
Różnorodne techniki mające na celu neuroobrazowanie funkcjonalne pozwalają na lepsze rozumienie uwarunkowań neurobiologicznych zaburzeń ze spektrum autyzmu (autism-spectrum disorders-ASD). Wczesne badania służące neuroob...
The use of RHLB battery for the evaluation of the lingual and social skills among psychiatric patients – case study
Prosody plays an important role in the process of verbal communication, complementing and emphasising the linguistic and emotional aspects of language. Disturbances of speech prosody are rarely recognised, although apros...
Sprawność pamięci operacyjnej a nasilenie depresji po 8 tygodniach farmakoterapii
Cel. Celem pracy jest poznanie zależności pomiędzy sprawnością wzrokowo-przestrzennej oraz werbalnej pamięci operacyjnej a nasileniem poziomu depresji mierzonej Skalą Depresji Hamiltona (HDRS) po 8 tygodniach leczenia fa...
State and trait anxiety level and increase of depression among mothers of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and conduct disorder. Pilot study.
Objectives: To evaluate anxiety level (as a trait and as a state) and the intensity of depressive symptoms in mothers of children with hyperkinetic disorder (HD) and with and without comorbid conduct disorder (CD); to de...
Medical students’ sexuality – development and fulfilment of sexual needs
Introduction. Education in human sexual physiology and pathology, as well as own sexual health of medical doctors determines in a large proportion the ability to talk with patients about their sexual disorders. Therefore...