Analytical Summary Article : Trauma, PTSD, and Resilience A Review of the Literature. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse

Analytical Summary Article: Agaibi, C. E., & Wilson, J. P. (2005). Trauma, PTSD, and Resilience A Review of the Literature. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 6(3), 195-216.

In this literature review article written in 2005, Agaibi and Wilson discuss trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder, and resilience. They limit the object of this study by focusing resilience of individuals after experience of trauma. The purpose of this article is to find relationship between trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder, and resilience because this will help in understanding resilience. The authors say that methods of previous research on trauma and PTSD are helping to understand trauma and responses of trauma patients and these can also help in understanding resilience. This was motivation of authors. This research will help other researchers to use knowledge about trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder to understand resilience and help patients.

Trauma is one key concept studied in this article. According to authors trauma is “defined by stress events that present extraordinary challenges to coping and adaptation.” The author explains the concept by different methods. For example at one place the author used the term “situations that challenge coping” to explain trauma. Also they take definition from other sources to explain trauma like “experiencing, witnessing, or confronting events that involve actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others”. They limit the concept of trauma to understand and explain resilience. Example of information from other sources and key terms that add meaning to trauma is, “psychological trauma and abuse, mentally ill parents, physical disability, life-threatening birth defects and personal injuries, asylum seeking and refugee status, war, disasters, and life-threatening illness (Caffo & Belaise, 2003; Masten, Morison, Pellegrini, & Tellegen, 1990; Nader, 1997, 2004; Pynoos & Nader, 1993).”

This article and article by Straussner and Calnan (2014) both discuss trauma, PTSD, and resilience but Straussner and Calnan dicuss these concepts separately and this article studies the relationships between these concepts. For example this article tries to understand resilience by understanding trauma and PTSD which means to find relationships between these three.

  References

Agaibi, C. E., & Wilson, J. P. (2005). Trauma, PTSD, and Resilience A Review of the Literature. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 6(3), 195-216.

Straussner, S. L. A., & Calnan, A. J. (2014). Trauma through the life cycle: A review of current literature. Clinical Social Work Journal, 42(4), 323-335.