Exploring resilience: strengths of trafficking survivors in Cambodia
-
Glori G. Gray
,
Lilia Luna
Abstract
Western literature provides an array of information regarding resilience within at-risk youth. Resilience research within non-Western contexts, and more specifically with exploited youth, is more limited. Despite exploitation, some youth develop a hardy ability to overcome adversity, allowing them more mastery over their environments and even increased psychological steadfastness. This project involved exploring the protective factors of resilience and psychological functioning in Cambodian youth, specifically a group of 24 survivors of sexual trafficking and another group of 24 rural youth without reported exploitation. The ages of participants ranged from 13 to 22 years, with the average age being 15.62 years [standard deviation (SD=2.68)]. Results indicated resilience constructs (mastery and relatedness) correlated with psychological functioning (anxiety and depression), as expected. The sense of relatedness was moderately associated with age. Also, as predicted, the trafficked young women demonstrated more resilience and less pathology. Consistent with previous research, earlier trauma is believed to inoculate survivors of trauma against further stress, mobilize them to better confront adversity and reduce psychological disruptions. Understanding these issues can help in understanding the relationship between resilience factors and psychological functioning as well as the strengths of many trauma survivors. Their strengths are particularly useful for developing effective treatment protocols for traumatized youth from non-Western backgrounds.
©2012 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Editorial
- Community singing: what does that have to do with health?
- Review Articles
- Internet use, misuse, and addiction in adolescents: current issues and challenges
- Early executive function deficit in preterm children and its association with neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood: a literature review
- Original Articles
- Access to contraception and HIV testing among young women in a peri-urban district of Uganda
- Addressing the needs of adolescent mothers and their offspring in Nigeria: a community-based study
- Parental beliefs and knowledge about male human papillomavirus vaccination in the US: a survey of a pediatric clinic population
- Educating for the future: adolescent girls’ health and education in West Bengal, India
- Knowledge, attitude, and practice of cervical cancer screening among Greek students: a short report
- Environment factors associated with adolescents’ body mass index, physical activity and physical fitness in Kuching South City, Sarawak: a cross-sectional study
- Reading increases ocular illuminance during light treatment
- Sex-related perceptions associated with sexual activity status among Japanese adolescents who heavily use text messaging
- If I value myself, I value school: The protective effect of self-esteem among abused females
- The poverty puzzle: the surprising difference between wealthy and poor students for self-efficacy and academic achievement
- Exploring resilience: strengths of trafficking survivors in Cambodia
- Deliberate self-poisoning: a study from Nablus
