Is Resilience Enough? COVID-Related Stress and Traumatic Stress for Black Adults

Abstract

Sars-CoV-2 COVID-19-related stress has been associated with post-traumatic stress symptoms in several communities; however, insight into protective factors for pandemic stressors and trauma symptoms in Black Adults remains limited. While research suggests that resilience, or the ability to bounce back following exposure to stressful events, is an essential factor in how individuals cope with trauma symptoms, few studies have examined its role in COVID-19-related stress. This preliminary study aimed to examine the association between COVID-19-related stress and post-traumatic stress symptoms and the moderating effect of resilience for Black adults. The sample included 169 Black adults (52.9% female; Mage = 28.21) who endorsed experiences of COVID-19-related stress. Participants completed a questionnaire battery consisting of self-report measures of COVID-19-related stress, trauma symptoms within the past month, and resilience. Sixty-two percent of the sample demonstrated a pattern of responding to survey measures consistent with high or very high risk for post-traumatic stress disorder. Consistent with hypotheses, bivariate correlation analyses revealed a significant positive association between COVID-related stress and trauma symptoms ( r = .29, p < .001), such that higher self-reported COVID-related stress was related to higher levels of trauma symptoms. Resilience, however, did not serve as a significant moderator of this association (β = .23, 95% CI [−0.06, 0.17], p = .35). Findings suggest that an individual conceptualization of resilience may not be a sufficient buffer for the heavier allostatic load and the cumulative impact of COVID-related stress on traumatic stress for Black communities, who culturally tend to center communal relationships.