Childhood trauma and resilience in old age: applying a context model of resilience to a sample of former indentured child laborers

Abstract

Applying this comprehensive resilience model in a sample of older adults revealed meaningful findings in predicting resilience at a single time point and over time. Atypical coping strategies, such as perceived social acknowledgment as a victim and disclosure, may be particularly important for former victims who have suffered institutional abuse.

A socio-interpersonal approach to adjustment disorder: the example of involuntary job loss

“…Against expectations and in contrast to previous findings (Maercker et al, 2016), perceived social support was positively associated with AjD diagnostic status, indicating a higher probability of AjD diagnosis with higher perceived social support. This could be explained by the fact that in high stress situations people activate their social resources to regulate emotion (Lakey & Orehek, 2011).…”

“…Higher dysfunctional disclosure, lower social acknowledgement, and higher co-rumination significantly predicted secondary PTSD symptoms in Belarusian rescue workers (Krutolewitsch, Horn, & Maercker, 2016). Maercker, Hilpert, and Burri (2016) found in former indentured child laborers that higher dysfunctional disclosure was associated with less life satisfaction, higher perceived social support was associated with less depressive symptoms, and higher social acknowledgement was associated with an increase in depressive symptoms over time. Furthermore, the risk of an AjD after a stressful life event for men was elevated when their female partner showed clinically significant symptoms of depression, and higher depressive symptoms in the female partner were associated with higher preoccupation in the male partner (Horn & Maercker, 2015).…”

Posttraumatic stress symptoms among Polish World War II survivors: the role of social acknowledgement

“…This perspective has been also stressed by ecological systems models applied in the context of resilience studies on children (Betancourt & Khan, 2008; Reed, Fazel, Jones, Panter-Brick, & Stein, 2011; Ungar, 2012) and in studying now-elderly people who were traumatized as children (Maercker, Hilpert, & Burri, 2016). …”

“…Maercker and Müller (2004) define social acknowledgment as ‘experiencing by the victim a positive response from society that shows appreciation for their exceptional condition and acknowledge their current difficult situation’ (p. 345). In other words, social acknowledgement refers to ‘how a person who has experienced trauma perceives social empathy and understanding by experiencing that the community attributes courage and dignity to survivors because of what they have experienced’ (Maercker et al, 2016, p. 617). ‘Social’ identification means the immediate surroundings of a victim (intimate partner), as well as the significant individuals and groups in a given community and broadly understood society.…”

Transgenerational aspects of former Swiss child laborers: do second generations suffer from their parents’ adverse early-life experiences?

“…Historiographical studies have documented the harsh environment in which these individuals grew up, reporting that a large proportion of the children were regularly beaten, emotionally and sexually abused, and that some were even beaten to death (Furrer, Heiniger, Huonker, Jenzer, & Praz, 2014; Leuenberger & Seglias, 2008). Survivors of the former “Verdingkinder” are now in late life, and studies have reported high prevalence of adverse childhood experiences and poor mental health (Burri, Maercker, Krammer, & Simmen-Janevska, 2013; Maercker, Hilpert, & Burri, 2015; Maercker, Krammer, & Simmen-Janevska, 2014). Even though childhood trauma is not necessarily associated with former childhood labor, the sample of former “Verdingkinder” reported here was specifically selected for their childhood trauma in order to represent a common form of the “Verdingkind” phenomenon (Leuenberger & Seglias, 2008).…”