Narratives Of Resilience Research Articles

WHAT DO YOU WEIGH? POPULAR FEMINISM AND BODY POSITIVITY AS MEDIATED DISEMBODIMENT

This study analyzes the Instagram page, @i_weigh, and its relation to body positivity discourses. Drawing on a visual discourse analysis of 300 Instagram posts from the @i_weigh account, this study suggests that body positivity movements may be increasingly disembodied in a self-representational era hallmarked by popular feminism. On 16 March 2018, actress and activist Jameela Jamil posted a photo to Instagram, obscuring her body with textual identifiers like “great friends” and “I laugh every day.” This post marked the launch of the Instagram account @i_weigh. This page, founded and maintained by Jamil, posts submissions from Instagram users answering the call to “weigh” themselves beyond the corporeal. This movement, now millions in reach, signals a departure from the conventions of body positivity. Rather than discovering empowerment through the body, @i_weigh encourages its participants to publicly privilege external relationships, social identities, and economic opportunities in an effort to look past the body. @i_weigh discursively constructs a mediated disembodiment, characterized by its liminal visual representation and categorization of the self through narratives of resilience and strength, claiming marginalized identities, and extra-self connection. The interaction of liminality and mediated disembodiment is reflective of self-representation in an age of popular feminism, placing the responsibility back on women for their own empowerment and production of selfhood while ignoring the socio-cultural frameworks that create a need for empowerment in the first place.

Risk and resilience in radically redefined information environments; information practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The concept of risk, which is defined as a threat to health, wellbeing, financial and employment stability, pervades the COVID‐19 pandemic. These risks are intensified through people's access to and ability to engage with appropriate information. The research reported investigates how information practices enable people to mitigate risks and build the resilience to cope with ongoing uncertainty. The poster will present initial findings from a small pilot study that was carried out in the UK in May–June 2020. Online interviews were used to examine the lived experience of people as the pandemic progressed. Areas that were explored included awareness of emerging risk, and experiences of changing conditions that impacted on working, educational, well‐being and caring practices. A constructivist grounded theory frames the analysis and enables the development of themes which contribute to an emerging risk and resilience narrative. Findings from this research will provide insight into global responses to the COVID‐19 pandemic, while further establishing foundational knowledge that will be useful for civil contingency, emergency services, health and education professions looking to support prepared and informed communities.

Resilience and values: Global perspectives on the values and worldviews underpinning the resilience concept

Instrumentalist and critical narratives of resilience have seldom engaged discussing the ‘values’ underpinning it. We propose that mapping resilience values against worldviews can help translate the articulation of theoretical narratives as public policy. This can help establish an evidence-base to assess if resilience thinking is - in practice - the inclusive and participatory agenda that policy claims it to be; or – on the other hand – to understand the ways in which resilience is a new market for exploitation, as its critics have claimed. The inclusion of a worldviews perspective in conjunction with the contextual aspect of place approach associated with geographers will help actors design better resilience-led interventions, by targeting such interventions more appropriately to the values of the target audience. The paper summarizes two dominant narratives and suggests pathways for the inclusion of a third pathway that derives empirical approaches from values-oriented research at multiple scales.

Narratives of resilience in medical students following the 3/11 triple disaster: Using thematic analysis to examine paths to recovery

In March of 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear explosion damaged northeastern Japan. While nine years have passed, the memory of this disaster continues to linger. This qualitative study had three main goals. First it aimed to explore the reactions and interpretations of adolescents living in areas affected by the disaster. Second, it sought to examine the behaviors and beliefs that enabled these students to not only recover but thrive. Third, it strived to build a more global and dynamic framework of resilience. A convenience sample of 18 students participated in semi-structured face-to-face interviews. Their narratives were qualitatively analyzed using thematic content analysis. Overall, four themes, each with four codes or sub-themes, emerged as sources of resilience including social support (social networks, role models, and community service), hopeful future orientation (cognitive reappraisal, optimism, and motivation to be physician), active emotions (rational compassion, luck, and suppression) and sense of purpose or duty (sharing of personal story, motivation to educate others, and Fukushima image). These findings reveal the experiences of highly resilient youth facing trauma and the connection between childhood adversity and career choices. They also begin to uncover the unique ways that culture, society, and tradition impact processes of recovery.

Development of character strengths across the deployment cycle among U.S. Army soldiers.

Despite a narrative of post-traumatic growth and resilience, research reliably demonstrating positive character development following adversity has proved elusive. In the current study, we examined changes in character strengths in Army soldiers deploying for the first time. The sample was comprised of 212,386 Army soldiers (Mage =26.5years old, SD=7.13; 70.8% White) who were deploying for the first time. Character strengths were assessed once before and up to three times following soldiers' return from deployment. We found evidence for two classes of change-a resilient class ("stable high") and a declining class ("persistent low"). Most soldiers were resilient-they had high levels of character strengths prior to deployment and changed very little across the deployment cycle. Approximately 40% of soldiers started with lower character and experienced initial declines post-deployment, from which they experienced no more than small gains over time. Character strengths were highly stable across the deployment transition but some soldiers experienced initial declines from which they never fully rebounded. The findings are discussed in the context of the mechanisms that drive character development.

Coping with Impostor Feelings: Evidence Based Recommendations from a Mixed Methods Study

Abstract
 Objective – The negative effects of impostor phenomenon, also called impostor syndrome, include burnout and decreased job satisfaction and have led to an increased interest in addressing this issue in libraries in recent years. While previous research has shown that many librarians experience impostor phenomenon, the experience of coping with these feelings has not been widely studied. The aim of our study was to understand how health sciences librarians cope with impostor phenomenon in the workplace. 
 Methods – We conducted a census of 2125 Medical Library Association members between October and December 2017. An online survey featuring the Harvey Impostor Phenomenon scale and open-ended questions about coping strategies to address impostor phenomenon at work was administered to all eligible participants. We used thematic analysis to explore strategies for addressing impostor phenomenon and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) to examine relationships between impostor phenomenon scores and coping strategies.
 Results – Among 703 survey respondents, 460 participants completed the qualitative portion of the survey (65%). We found that external coping strategies that drew on the help of another person or resource, such as education, support from colleagues, and mentorship, were associated with lower impostor scores and more often rated by participants as effective, while internal strategies like reflection, mindfulness, and recording praise were associated with less effectiveness and a greater likelihood of impostor feelings. Most respondents reported their strategies to be effective, and the use of any strategy appeared to be more effective than not using one at all.
 Conclusions – This study provides evidence based recommendations for librarians, library leaders, and professional organizations to raise awareness about impostor phenomenon and support our colleagues experiencing these feelings. We attempt to situate our recommendations within the context of potential barriers, such as white supremacy culture, the resilience narrative, and the lack of open communication in library organizations.

Narratives of long-term resilience: two cases of women aging with spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a life-changing event that drastically affects a person's sense of identity, ability to participate, and quality of life (QOL). Researchers studying the coping process have often focused on identifying maladaptive behaviors and barriers, and less on positive psychology approaches emphasizing individual strengths. More recently, positive psychology constructs, such as resilience, have received greater attention from SCI researchers. Early and ongoing recognition of resilience in patients with SCI may provide important information to clinicians about adjustment and long-term management. Our purpose is to document patterns and indicators of resilience, using a narrative approach, during various stages of adjustment following SCI. Narrative case presentations are deriving from in-depth qualitative interviews with two women aged 63 and 52, living with SCI. Both had complete motor neurological injuries that incurred at 27 and 35 years, respectively. Each woman was interviewed twice, approximately 10 years apart (age 63 and 52, and age 54 and 42). Each demonstrated high levels of resilience through evolving roles of family and caregivers, inner personal strength, and participation in their respective communities. We highlight differences, similarities, and evolution of resilience factors in and between each case. These cases illustrate examples of long-term resilience, adding richness to the resilience construct. Results provide knowledge that can be used to target rehabilitation interventions toward successful coping styles. In sharing these cases, we hope to assist clinicians and researchers to better recognize patterns of resilience in their own patients and study participants.

Unexpected Caregiving in Later Life: Illuminating the Narratives of Resilience of Grandmothers and Relative Caregivers through Photovoice Methodology

ABSTRACT This research study implements photovoice methodology with unexpected caregivers to illuminate the lived experiences of female grandparents and relative caregivers who are raising young children in the later stages of their life. As they enter older adulthood, grandmothers are increasingly finding themselves taking care of their children’s children for various reasons, including, but not limited to, their adult child’s incarceration, mental health issues, drug and alcohol addiction, or child abuse or neglect. Informed by various feminist theoretical lenses, we use photovoice methodology to highlight the narratives of resilience and explore the ways in which grandmothers re-conceptualize their roles and identity as an unexpected caregiver and the sources of strength and resilience that inform the ways in which they navigate the various circumstances in their lives.

Faculty Videos of Resilience Narratives at Two Institutions

Burnout and mental health issues among residents are associated with adverse health consequences and suboptimal job performance, e.g. increased medical error. Given role models as key to cultivating resilience, we created faculty resilience narrative videos within resilience skill training programs, hypothesizing such videos would provide new perspectives/insights on resiliency and humanize attendings in a useful way. Child and adult neurology residents at two institutions positively rated the impact of these faculty videos. Such videos are an innovative and practical way to: 1) provide exemplar role models for learning about coping with physician challenges and gaining insights on resilience; 2) access stories of triumph over challenge for inspiration; and 3) work to achieve local culture change by reducing stigma and increase empathy/connection during training. Successful implementation of this video innovation provides good rationale for further evaluation of impact on local culture, faculty experience, and resident attitudes and behavior.

Resilient industry narratives

Resilient industry narratives

The Modernist Art of Queer Survival by Benjamin Bateman

 Reviews e Modernist Art of Queer Survival. By B B. (Modernist Literature and Culture Series) New York: Oxford University Press. . xii+ pp.£.. ISBN ––––. In , shortly before discussions of teleology, temporality, new unhistoricism, and (no) futurity came to dominate queer studies, David Halperin called into question the future of queer theory itself. ‘If queer theory is going to have the sort of future worth cherishing,’ wrote Halperin, ‘we will have to find ways of renewing its radical potential—and by that I mean not devising some new and more avant-garde theoretical formulation of it but, quite concretely, reinventing its capacity to startle, to surprise, to help us think what has not yet been thought’ (‘e Normalization of Queer eory’, Journal of Homosexuality, .– (), – (p. )). Fieen years later, Benjamin Bateman’s brilliant book on queer survival demonstrates why Halperin need not have worried. Drawing upon significant recent scholarship but ultimately proposing a radically new way of interpreting the precariousness of queer existence, Bateman extends a ‘queer invitation’ that not only ‘makes time for queerness both now and in the future’ (p. ) but also illustrates precisely why such work is worth cherishing. e book is founded on a paradox or ‘counterintuitive proposition’ (p. ). Bateman asks that we focus not on fragility but on ‘feelings of aliveness’ (p. ), that we recognize what is ‘both strong and weak enough to help one survive’ (p. ), that we find comfort in the ‘insecurity blanket’ (p. ) enveloping queer existence. While Bateman claims that his goal is ‘not to issue a counter-polemic’ (p. ) to Lee Edelman’s ‘epochal’ volume No Future: Queer eory and the Death Drive (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, ), it is impossible not to pit these works against one another, with Bateman’s presenting an altogether more appealing narrative of resilience and ‘queers surviving’ (p. ). Refusing to accept ‘extreme negativity’ (p. ), Bateman succeeds in drawing out the most unlikely positives from the darkest of places. e queer ‘death impulse’ is ‘a spur to interanimate collaboration and agency’ (pp. –), the suffering of Wilde and Bosie is ‘the gritty stuff of survival’ (p. ), and Chapter  is alarmingly entitled ‘Cather’s Survival by Suicide’. In his reading of Wilde’s De Profundis, Bateman aims to be ‘generous to what the prose is driving at’ (p. ), which sums up his approach both as literary critic and as theorist grappling with unhappy pasts (‘ones whose frowns are not turned upside down’ (p. )) and uncertain futures. Bateman delivers on the promise of his lively Introduction with chapters on James, Wilde, Forster, and Cather. Although the work on Forster spans two chapters (‘Forster’s Queer Invitation’ and ‘e Invitation’s Success’), it is Cather who frames the narrative, shaping the Introduction and Coda as well as an attentive final chapter. e book’s key strengths lie in the ‘aliveness’ of both its prose and its close readings. Bateman’s oen complex thesis is presented in terms wholly accessible and engaging, at times bordering on conversational (‘I will get to the infamous Marabar caves soon enough’ (p. )), and the attention to detail in the interpretation of Cather’s Lucy Gayheart () reaps particularly worthwhile rewards. Modernism MLR, .,   is defined loosely here, but this work will surely make a profound intervention in debates both queer and literary. Bateman’s study itself is a ‘narrative vessel’ (p. ), bringing forth a story of queer survival that demands to be heard. e confidence of series editors Kevin J. H. Dettmar and Mark Wollaeger in describing Bateman as ‘a canny reader of queer theory and a formidable theorist in his own right’ (p. vii) is well placed. e Modernist Art of Queer Survival is an invigorating book, and one that will endure. Queer theory has a future, and this is the kind of work that makes scholars want to be a part of it. U  Y H R Great Plains Literature. By L P. (Discovering the Great Plains) Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. . iv+ pp. $.; £.. ISBN – –––. In Great Plains Literature Linda Pratt offers a survey of the region’s writers that is both compact and in-depth, at least concerning the aspects and authors on which Pratt has chosen to focus. e...

Strengthening Vicarious Resilience in Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Narrative Approach to Couples Therapy

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is correlated with numerous adverse effects, both intrapersonal and interpersonal. Couples where one or more partners is a CSA survivor often report problems in social/relational adjustment, emotional expressiveness, revictimization, low relationship satisfaction and stability, and sexual dysfunction. Despite the adverse effects of CSA, some individuals with a history of CSA retain typical levels of functioning, and data from studies of resilience in CSA survivors suggest the importance of social and relational support for favorable outcomes. Resilience is not only an individual factor but also a social, ecological process, and research on vicarious resilience in therapist–client relationships suggests that resilience can be transmitted across relationship systems through a combination of witnessing resilience stories and beliefs about the possibility of resilience and its transmission. We suggest that in romantic partnerships (including nonheteronormative configurations) where one or more partners has a history of CSA, narrative couples therapy is well suited to address the systemic impacts of trauma and resilience by facilitating the transmission of each partner’s resilience to the other. Two narrative interventions, mapping and definitional ceremonies, are suggested to facilitate the transmission of resilience within the couple system through the sharing and witnessing of each other’s subjugated resilience narratives, thereby promoting a re-authored preferred identity based on acceptance, strength, and agency rather than shame, avoidance, and interpersonal difficulty.

Beyond the End of the World: Narratives of Gain and Resilience in the Anthropocene

Abstract Narratives of human-induced environmental effects such as climate change and biodiversity decline have long been dominated by narratives of loss in which humankind is concep­tualized as a destructive force. But in addition to narratives of loss, there is a narrative of gain and resilience in nonfiction books intended for a general audience. Books employing this narrative emphasize that nature is dynamic and that some species are adapting to and flourishing thanks to human-induced changes. This review essay discusses two new books in this vein: Chris D. Thomas’s Inheritors of the Earth (2017) and Menno Schilthuizen’s Darwin Comes to Town (2018). I argue that these two books, besides being interesting in their own right, are important contributions to the popular literature on climate change and the Anthropocene because they denaturalize dominant apocalyptic narratives of nature. However, they underestimate the severity of human effect on the biosphere and advocate a form of anthropocentrism that may be misguided if our goal is to maintain a functioning biosphere for the future.

MOVING BEYOND INDIVIDUAL COPING TO DEVELOPING SYSTEMS-LEVEL INTERVENTIONS FOR COMMUNITY-DWELLING ADULTS

According to AARP, the number of Americans aged 65 and older will grow to 90.5 million, which is double the count in 2010. Along with the growth of the aging population, we can also anticipate more diverse older adult communities due to increased immigration and evolving, complex family constellations. Two major concerns for aging adults is managing increasing geriatric conditions that affect mobility/function and chronic morbidities, while also trying to afford quality housing, the environmental context within which older adults spend most of their time. Urban planners and human service providers must remain abreast of the housing-health needs of this aging population and prepare aging-friendly communities that foster resident resilience and address “environmental, economic, and social factors that influence the health and wellbeing of older people” (AARP, 2017). In this symposium, panelists one present findings from a qualitative study to explore collective trauma and resilience narratives among residents in Flint, Michigan. Panelists two share findings from a community-based participatory study that explores the intricate network of relationships among residents as a core indicator of livability in senior housing. Panelists three share strategies for strengthening networks to reducing resident isolation and loneliness. Lastly, the fourth set of panelists discuss policy implications and trauma-informed approaches needed for residents with a history of interpersonal trauma.

OLDER ADULT KIDNEY TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS: THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF ADAPTATION AND INTEGRATION

As the prevalence of end-stage renal disease increases in the United States, a growing number of adults aged 65 and over are receiving kidney transplants. While older adult recipients tend to fare well from a clinical standpoint, far less is known about their psychosocial wellbeing following transplantation. This study seeks to better understand the lived experience of older adult kidney transplant recipients, focusing on the ‘liminal’ period of adaptation following organ transplantation that has been reported elsewhere in the literature. Applying the hermeneutic phenomenology of philosopher Paul Ricoeur, the study explores the lived experience of 10 deceased donor kidney transplant recipients aged 65 and over. Guided by Ricoeur’s conceptual approach to identity as constituted through two forms, idem and ipse, preliminary findings suggest that despite expressing some distress around the ‘strangeness’ of integrating part of another into oneself (disruption of the idem sense of self), participants also constructed powerful narratives of resilience and coping that were rooted in the continuity of a deeply held ipse sense of identity over the life course. In particular, participants emphasized their ability to overcome adversity as an anchor of their ipse sense of self that enabled them to navigate the idem corporeal changes of transplantation. Moreover, they described kidney transplantation as a form of liberation, ultimately restoring their idem sense of self that had been profoundly disrupted by ‘machine life’ (time spent on dialysis). These findings will have significant implications for ensuring the provision of optimal support to older adult kidney transplant recipients.

Narratives of cooperation, resilience and resistance: workers’ self-recovery in times of crisis

PurposeWorker-recuperated enterprises have appeared in Europe with increasing frequency since 2008, following the Great Recession that hit the western economies. The purpose of this paper is to depict the phenomenon of worker-recuperated enterprises in Italy, focusing on two different types of business recovery, that of workers buyouts and that of recovered social spaces. The paper compares these on the basis of four analytical dimensions: resilience/resistance, relationship with the market, relationship with the territory and workplace democracy.Design/methodology/approachThe corpus of the research is based on the cross-sectional analysis of workers’ narratives. These were collected, within a small sample of theoretically relevant cases, in order to retrace and analyse the path from the crisis of the former companies to establishment of the workers’ cooperatives and their social and economic features.FindingsThe collected narratives allowed for a multi-level comparison between different types of worker-recuperated enterprises, providing some insights on their emergence, their features in terms of resilience and resistance, their relationship with the market economy and their outcomes in terms of workplace democracy and support to employment.Originality/valueWorker buyouts are gaining ground in Europe as an effective mechanism to oppose the fall of the employment rate in consequence of economic crises. This research intends to offer some data and arguments to the current international debate on the effectiveness of these mechanisms in coping with economic shocks and opening up to a sustainable and cooperative work-driven economy.

‘Push on through’: Children’s perspectives on the narratives of resilience in schools identified for intensive mental health promotion

Child mental health is a growing concern for policymakers across the global north. Schools have become a key site for mental health interventions, with new programmes aimed at promoting ‘resilience’, through which children may maintain or regain mental health during adversity. As one of the first studies to explore the early impact of intensive mental health promotion in schools from children’s perspectives, we adopt a governmentality approach to consider the logic and techniques of such programmes with a specific focus on England. An innovative visual methodology was used to focus on student perspectives of mental health interventions in school. Young peoples’ photo representations of mental health were collected and used to stimulate focus group discussions with 65 students aged 12–14, across seven schools. ‘Resilience’ was seen to be the key organising concept for mental health interventions in schools. The concept was viewed as narrowly focused on attitude towards—and performance in—school work, with individuals being encouraged to ‘push on through’ difficulties to achieve success. Young people were critical of this approach, suggesting several alternatives. These included increased access to independent mental health professionals, safe spaces within schools and mental health education that addressed the social and affective dimensions of mental health difficulties.

A Narrative of Advocacy, Resilience, and Recovery Following Severe Brain Injury.

Division of Medical Ethics and CASBI, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, and Yale Law School, New Haven, Connecticut. Corresponding Author: Joseph J. Fins, MD, MACP, FRCP, Division of Medical Ethics and CASBI, Weill Cornell Medical College, 435 East 70th St, Ste 4-J, New York, NY ([email protected]). The author declares no conflicts of interest.

Narrative Psychiatry and Family Therapy: Promoting Resilience and Collaboration with Persons with Intense Mental and Emotional Experiences at Risk of Causing Violence

Narrative psychiatry identifies meaning‐making as a primal force in our lives and guides family therapists and psychiatrists in cultivating narratives of resilience that support safety and wellbeing when working with families in which a member is dealing with intense mental and emotional experiences and may be at risk of causing violence. These contexts are fraught with implications about power, control, identity, and ethical responsibilities of care for those consulting with us and for the wider community. Offering benefits distinct from pathology‐focused psychiatric practice, narrative psychiatry applies the practices of narrative therapy in psychiatric contexts, focusing on strengths and meaning and honouring how values, intentions, and commitments compel and constrain our actions. Illustrated by case conversations, this paper describes five key practices of narrative psychiatry, including emotional attunement, understanding the person without the problem, externalising problems, creating narratives of resilience, and collaborative treatment planning. It shows how narrative psychiatry facilitates risk reduction through helping a person identify values and narratives that support non‐violence and strengthening abilities, relationships and resources that help them stay true to this commitment. Practical ways that family therapists and psychiatrists can use conversations about resources, including medicines, to deconstruct damaging discourses and generate narratives of resilience are described. Discussion is offered about how narrative psychiatry can support clinicians in ethically negotiating clinical dilemmas in which the preferences of the person or family are in conflict with the clinician's ethical and legal duty to protect life.

Narratives of Generativity and Resilience among LGBT Older Adults: Leaving Positive Legacies despite Social Stigma and Collective Trauma

ABSTRACT The aim of many adults in middle to old age is to be generative. Generativity is the concern older adults direct toward the wellbeing of future generations. Being generative results in positive well-being during later life and is especially important to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) older adults who have experienced lifelong discrimination. In this study, we identified stigmatizing social influences that both negatively and positively acted to inform understandings of generativity and the ability to leave a legacy for future generations. Using a narrative analysis methodology, we identified three overarching redemptive narratives from study participants: (1) experiences during the HIV/AIDS pandemic, (2) absence of positive role models, and (3) religious conviction. These life story narratives inform how generative contributions can contribute toward a legacy of resilience, despite social stigma and collective trauma.