And Still I Rise: Resilience Factors Contributing to Posttraumatic Growth in African American Women

Mushonga, Dawnsha R.; Rasheem, S.; Anderson, David A.

doi:10.1177/0095798420979805

Cited by 12 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…For example, gratitude has been recently found to increase wellbeing and decrease depression in women with breast cancer, along with promoting post-traumatic growth ( Sztachańska et al, 2019 ; Tomczyk et al, 2021 ). Gratitude also has a role in developing post-traumatic growth in female victims of poverty and abuse ( Mushonga et al, 2021 ). Dispositional gratitude was negatively related to changes in symptoms of depression in a population of female nurses over the course of 4 months ( Hao et al, 2022 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gratitude Can Help Women At-Risk for Depression Accept Their Depressive Symptoms, Which Leads to Improved Mental Health

2022

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IntroductionGratitude is commonly known as a positive emotion, but it can also be understood as a disposition—one’s inherent quality that includes being grateful for the positive aspects of one’s life and appreciating altruistic gifts. A growing body of research suggests that having a disposition of gratitude is positively related to wellbeing and psychological adjustment. The present study examined the extent to which acceptance of illness—a measure of adjustment to a distressing condition—mediated relationships between dispositional gratitude and wellbeing among women who had elevated levels of depressive symptoms.MethodsParticipants were 131 women who, based on scores on the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale, were at-risk for experiencing clinical depression. Thirty-five of these participants had been diagnosed as depressed at some point in their lives and 96 had not. Participants completed measures of dispositional gratitude, wellbeing, anxiety, and acceptance of illness.ResultsDispositional gratitude was positively correlated with wellbeing and was negatively correlated with depression and anxiety. Dispositional gratitude was also positively correlated with acceptance of illness. Mediational analyses found that acceptance of illness mediated relationships between dispositional gratitude and wellbeing, between dispositional gratitude and anxiety, and between dispositional gratitude and depression. Moreover, such mediation varied as a function of whether women had ever been diagnosed as depressed. Acceptance of illness was related more strongly to wellbeing for women who had been diagnosed as depressed at some time in their lives than it was for women who had never been diagnosed as depressed.ConclusionWomen with elevated depressive symptoms who were more grateful (compared to those who were less grateful) were more accepting of their condition, which was related to increased wellbeing and decreased feelings of depression and anxiety.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gratitude Can Help Women At-Risk for Depression Accept Their Depressive Symptoms, Which Leads to Improved Mental Health

2022

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“…Following recent intersectional scholarship, it could be that Black survivors of IPV have increased access to and reservoirs of resilience. For instance, Mushonga et al ’s (2021) study investigated contributors of posttraumatic growth for Black women survivors of IPV finding that spirituality, motherhood, gratitude, prudence, solitude and selective attention also worked to bolster Black women’s resilience. Relatedly, in light of the exacerbated racial health disparities due to COVID-19 (Hooper et al , 2020), the resilience of nonwhite group members warrants further study to better understand and account for protective and promotive factors to foster resilience including through systemic change to reduce these myriad stressors in the first place.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surviving intimate partner violence and disaster

Cannon

Ferreira

Buttell

et al. 2022

JACPR

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Purpose Few studies investigating disaster have examined the risks associated with surviving both disaster and intimate partner violence (IPV). IPV is psychological or physical abuse in a personal relationship. Using an intersectional approach, the purpose of this study is to investigate contributions to and differences in perceived stress and personal resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic among a sample of predominantly female-identified IPV survivors (n = 41) to examine risks associated with this vulnerable population during disaster. Design/methodology/approach Using a structured interview guide, IPV survivors were interviewed regarding their perceived stress (i.e. perceived stress scale), personal resilience, (i.e. Connor Davidson Resilience Scale), type of violence experienced (i.e. physical violence), COVID-19-related stressors (i.e. loss of income due to the pandemic) and relevant socio-demographic characteristics (i.e. race). Findings These interviews indicate that participants exhibited low levels of resilience and a moderate amount of stress exposure highlighting risk factors associated with experiencing personal violence during disaster. Originality/value At the height of their need for support and assistance, the disaster generated additional rent and nutritional stress compounding the pressures violence survivors face. These findings suggest those who are socially vulnerable due to violence need structural support services to cope with disaster and violence-related stresses.

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“…Extending the literature on Black well-being and trauma, we explore PTG in the face of racial trauma and broaden our research to include flourishing. Previous scholarship has demonstrated the existence of PTG for African Americans in the face of other trauma such as physical assault, sexual assault, and serious accident (Alim et al, 2008), natural disaster (Manove et al, 2019), and intimate partner violence (Mushonga et al, 2021). However, we are unaware of any research examining PTG in the context of racial trauma, despite its ubiquitous and deleterious nature.…”

Section: Racial Trauma and Antiblacknessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Posttraumatic growth and flourishing in the face of racial trauma.

Grier‐Reed¹,

Maples²,

Houseworth

et al. 2023

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy

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Objective: Examining well-being in the face of racial trauma is timely, clinically significant, and severely understudied, especially in Black populations. To address this gap, we investigated the relationship between flourishing and posttraumatic growth among Black undergraduates who reported a history of racial trauma. Method: Participants were 96 Black college students recruited from a predominantly White Midwestern university, all of whom reported experience of racial trauma. Participants completed the Flourishing Scale and Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) in an online survey. Most were women/cisgender female/female (66.67%) and identified as religious (66%); 47% were first-generation college students. The average age of the sample was 21.14 (SD = 5.46). Results: We analyzed Flourishing and PTGI scores for students who were able to identify/recall a racially traumatic event/experience using linear regression. Results indicated that after controlling for sociodemographic factors, scores on the PTGI significantly predicted Flourishing scores and accounted for 29.4% of the variance. Conclusions: These findings suggest that those who are able to deepen connections with others, tap into their inner strengths, gain new perspectives and a new appreciation for life, and connect to spirituality not only grow but are more likely to report flourishing. Contributing empirical evidence to the reliability (a =.91) and validity of the Flourishing Scale for Black college students, our findings also have implications for educators and clinicians interested in helping Black students grow and flourish in the aftermath of racially traumatic events. Clinical Impact StatementWe found evidence of internal consistency reliability and convergent validity for the Flourishing Scale in a sample of Black college students who reported racial trauma, where posttraumatic growth and flourishing were significantly correlated. Fundamentally, drawing attention to possibilities for posttraumatic growth and flourishing in the aftermath of racial trauma, we offer an important strengths-based shift that balances a focus on adversity with a focus on empirically measured positive development. Namely, opportunities to connect with others, see new possibilities, identify strengths, tap into spirituality, and appreciate life are underscored.

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And Still I Rise: Resilience Factors Contributing to Posttraumatic Growth in African American Women

Cited by 12 publications

References 55 publications

Gratitude Can Help Women At-Risk for Depression Accept Their Depressive Symptoms, Which Leads to Improved Mental Health

Gratitude Can Help Women At-Risk for Depression Accept Their Depressive Symptoms, Which Leads to Improved Mental Health

Surviving intimate partner violence and disaster

Posttraumatic growth and flourishing in the face of racial trauma.

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