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Overview on Trauma and Resilience

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The Intersection of Trauma and Disaster Behavioral Health

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Abstract

“Resilience after trauma is one of the most compelling phenomena in contemporary traumatic stress research” (Nugent et al., European Journal of Psychotraumatology 5, 2014), para. 1). Indeed, resilience is compelling. The health practitioner may view patient or client resilience as unexpected strength amid inner turmoil or environmental chaos. The health researcher or academic may observe resilience as one’s ability to survive amid the negative forces related to physiological, cognitive, or emotional trauma. Regardless of perspective, resilience is appreciated by most as something positive, some phenomena that offers the ability to bounce back during hard times (Tugade and Fredrickson, Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 86:320–333, 2004). To understand the value of resilience to health and well-being, especially as it relates to trauma, we must understand it at the basic level. Accordingly, the purpose of this chapter is to provide a foundational understanding of these constructs: resilience and trauma. They are used frequently in varying roles – independent and outcome variables – in disaster research. Trauma-focused research with resilience outcomes is gaining ground in health literature. Therefore, we find it necessary and compelling to provide conceptual clarity to these constructs, distinctly and connectedly. Later, this chapter provides a brief overview of these constructs through the lens of behavioral health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Scott E. Wilks, Sarah E. Choate & Tamecia M. Curry

  2. Southern University and A & M College, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Sandra C. Brown

  3. Department of Sociology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Xi Du

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  1. Scott E. Wilks
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Correspondence to Scott E. Wilks .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Katie E. Cherry

  2. College of Social Work, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

    Allison Gibson

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Wilks, S.E., Choate, S.E., Brown, S.C., Du, X., Curry, T.M. (2021). Overview on Trauma and Resilience. In: Cherry, K.E., Gibson, A. (eds) The Intersection of Trauma and Disaster Behavioral Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51525-6_2

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