An Exploration of the Relationship Between Culture and Resilience Capacity in Trauma Survivors

Abstract

<jats:p> Resilience capacity has been found to be associated with individuals’ flexibility and adaptability when dealing with adversity-related stress. Previous research suggested that resilience capacity may play an important role in moderating the relationships between exposure to traumatic events and severity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and cultural factors may be associated with that process. However, adequate research of the mechanisms on how culture may relate to the relationship between resilience and PTSD is still lacking. The present study attempted to explore potential mediators associated with the relationship between culture and resilience capacity among trauma survivors and focused on the potential mediating associations of cultural variables (independent/interdependent self-construal, dialectical thinking, and familism). Levels of culture-related variables among three cultural regions (America, Hong Kong, and Mainland China) were assessed and analyzed. The results of a bootstrapping analysis indicated that independent self-construal and dialectical thinking each significantly mediated the relationship between culture and resilience capacity. Cultural and clinical implications of these findings and suggestions for future research were explored. </jats:p>

Factors Affecting Resilience of Nursing, Optometry, Radiography and Medical Laboratory Science Students

“…These differences may be explained by the busy working environments in the health-care settings in Hong Kong and the values and beliefs of Chinese people. In a study of trauma survivors, a lower level of dialectical thinking to reconcile opposing perspectives and higher independent self-construal in American trauma survivors affected the effectiveness of their responses in the aftermath of trauma and their construction of a more resilient self-concept than survivors in Hong Kong and China [ 48 ].…”

The Importance of Positive Youth Development Attributes to Life Satisfaction and Hopelessness in Mainland Chinese Adolescents

“… Yang and Zhou (2017) also pointed out that individual emotion is not fundamental to well-being in Chinese people. Empirically, while there was no difference between American and Chinese young adults on resilience capability ( Zheng et al, 2020 ), Church et al (2012) showed that Asian colleague students’ autonomy and self-acceptance were significantly lower than their counterparts in the United States. Liu et al (2016) also reported that Chinese adolescents showed higher modesty, self-regulation, prudence than curiosity and humor ( Liu et al, 2016 ), whereas Western adolescents scored higher on integrity, kindness, gratitude but lower on modesty and self-regulation ( Park and Peterson, 2006 ).…”

A Public Health Perspective of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

“…A study including Shanghai and Hong Kong residents and Americans showed the cultural differences in dialectical thinking, self-construal, and familyism in mediating resilience capacity. Dialectical thinking is the cognitive tendency toward attempts to reconcile two opposing perspectives or acceptance of contradiction [ 108 ]. Self-construal can be the independent self-construal common in the West or the interdependent self-construal common in East Asian countries.…”

“…Similarly, tendency towards familyism (which means interests and gains are conceived at the level of the familial group rather than at the individual level) is present more in East Asian countries [ 94 ]. The study on three regions showed that independent self-construal, familyism, and dialectical thinking significantly mediated the relationship between culture and resilience capacity [ 108 ].…”