A Grounded Theory Approach to Understanding Cultural Differences in Posttraumatic Growth

Towards a Culturally Appropriate Mental Health System: Sudanese-Australians' Experiences with Trauma

“…Comparisons are made between themes elicited from this sample and those from previous research by the authors that investigated PTG in a Caucasian-Australian sample (Copping, Shakespeare-Finch, & Paton, 2008;Shakespeare-Finch & Copping, 2006). The four main themes elicited from the current sample are discussed below.…”

“…Posttraumatic growth outcomes identified by Tedeschi and Calhoun (1996) such as religious changes, relationships with others, strength, appreciation of life, and the compassion dimension identified in the CaucasianAustralian literature (Shakespeare-Finch & Copping, 2006) were all articulated by this sample. However, these themes were expressed as values that existed prior to the escalation of suffering for Sudanese-Australian participants, rather than as having changed as a result of it.…”

“…Whereas western samples are likely to see themselves as being stronger because of what they experienced (Copping et al, 2008;Shakespeare-Finch & Copping, 2006;Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996), this SudaneseAustralian sample cited strength, hope and determination as reasons for their survival, that is, they are coping mechanisms for this sample rather than growth outcomes. The quotations displayed in Table 1 highlight how this theme was elicited from the data.…”

“…Subtle differences in the construction of PTG in Australia have also been found quantitatively (e.g., Morris, Shakespeare-Finch, Rieck, & Newberry, 2005) and qualitatively, with increasing emphasis placed on compassion, and little emphasis JOURNAL OF PACIFIC RIM PSYCHOLOGY Alicia Copping, Jane Shakespeare-Finch and Douglas Paton on religious or spiritual growth (Shakespeare-Finch & Copping, 2006;Copping, Shakespeare-Finch & Paton, 2008). These differences suggest that the influence of culture on the experience of life crises is an important factor to consider, particularly for host nations providing trauma support for humanitarian entrants.…”

“…Shakespeare-Finch and Copping (2006) suggested that there was little evidence of posttraumatic growth of a religious or spiritual nature in their model elicited with a Caucasian-Australian sample. It was also the case that a Caucasian-Australian sample did not use religion as a means of coping with, or making meaning out of the experience (Copping et al, 2008).…”