"Showing up every day": A grounded theory of military veterans' resolution of trauma

1 online resource (164 pages) : PDF

2020

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

The purpose of this study was to conduct an explication of the construct of resolution in the context of posttraumatic growth, or positive psychological and life changes resulting from the struggle with a highly stressful or traumatic experience. Grounded theory methodology was utilized, guided by the following research question: How do military veterans experience resolution in the context of trauma and posttraumatic growth? In-person and phone interviews were conducted with 22 participants (17 male and 5 female). Trained research assistants, along with this investigator, coded and categorized data per grounded theory method. A codebook was developed and a theoretical model built to describe relationships and processes among categories. The final model was comprised of seven categories: (a) gaining awareness, (b) accepting, (c) releasing control, (d) acting intentionally, (e) feeling positive, (f) sharing and supporting, and (g) viewing as process. The model described how participants became increasingly aware of the impact of the traumatic event on their functioning, accepting of these effects and the personal responsibility needed to manage them, and intentional about their thoughts, emotions, and actions as they moved forward in life. The process functioned iteratively, such that steps fed back into one another and refined over time. This explication of resolution was consistent with several concepts in the existing literature, such as resolution as acceptance, reorientation to the future, and restored self-worth. The model also overlapped and aligned with the PTG model, following naturally from deliberate rumination and clarifying the path from rumination to PTG. Importantly, participants did not resonate with the term "resolution," but rather alternatives like "acceptance." Taking the full model into consideration, other possible terms might be "recalibration" or "integration." Other implications for future research investigations and clinical treatment of trauma are discussed.

doctoral dissertations

Medical sciences
Clinical psychology

Ph.D.

Grounded Theory
Posttraumatic Growth
Resolution
Trauma
Veterans

Psychology

Tedeschi, Richard

Basinger, Erin
Peterman, Amy
Harris, Henry

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2020.

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Riffle_uncc_0694D_12486

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:2584