Promoting positive change in the face of adversity: experiences of cancer and post-traumatic growth

Connerty, Tracy Jayne; Knott, Vikki

doi:10.1111/ecc.12036

Cited by 70 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Author AC analysed transcripts and noted initial ideas and reflections before employing initial coding by highlighting salient and recurrent issues that arose in the text. VK, a researcher experienced in inductive and data-driven approaches, including grounded theory (Knott et al, 2012) and thematic analysis (Connerty & Knott, 2013), provided supervision, training, and guidance to AC during the process of thematic coding. Subsequent coding was used to group together similar words and passages of text before salient themes were abstracted.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why Do Young People Engage in Delinquency and Problem Drinking? Views From Adolescents and Stakeholders

Curcio

Knott

Mak

2015

Australian Psychologist

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Objective: Socially deviant and health-compromising behaviours are prevalent among adolescents living in Australia. The aim of this study was to explore from the perspectives of adolescents, and those involved in the provision of their care, potential reasons for youth delinquency and problematic drinking styles. Method:Participants were recruited purposively and comprised adolescents (n = 16) and stakeholders (n = 20), including youth mental health workers (n = 7), school teachers/counsellors (n = 7), and police officers (n = 6). An open-ended question was used to prompt group discussion around why young people engage in deviant behaviour, including problem drinking. Responses were transcribed and analysed thematically. Results: Participants identified a number of factors that potentially underpin delinquent behaviour. These results were summarised within three global themes: social determinants (e.g. parenting practices), reinforcement histories (e.g. social endorsement), and individual determinants (e.g. personality traits).Conclusions: Multi-disciplinary interventions addressing these causes are likely to result in optimal outcomes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why Do Young People Engage in Delinquency and Problem Drinking? Views From Adolescents and Stakeholders

Curcio

Knott

Mak

2015

Australian Psychologist

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“…She said there was a Bsisterhood^and that what she was Bsupposed to do^is help those in need. By feeling a sense of empowerment and empathy for others in similar situations, Glenda sought out connections with other people undergoing treatment for cancer and this helped her to feel in control as well as to normalize the cancer experience (Connerty and Knott 2013). The social support system she willingly and eagerly became a part of became a Bdurable, psychological resource^for her in establishing her resilience in the face of cancer (Chang and Yarnal 2018).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Positive emotions may help us put the events of our lives in a broader context, allowing us to build enduring personal resources (Fredrickson 1998(Fredrickson , 2001(Fredrickson , 2003. When we are able to be in tune with the meaningful aspects of our lives, like our friends and our leisure activities, we can initiate the potential for positive change, even in light of a serious illness like cancer (Connerty and Knott 2013;Hood and Carruthers 2007). The question guiding this inquiry was, how can participation in a hiking program help those affected by cancer develop new stores of positive emotions to aid in their recovery?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Celebrate the Trail to Recovery: Power of the Positive Post-Diagnosis of Cancer

Harmon

2018

Int J Sociol Leis

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This paper explored how those in treatment for cancer, or in remission from it, benefitted from participation in a weekly hiking program. Fredrickson's (2001) broaden-and-build concept was used to structure and demonstrate the ability of participants to create and store positive emotions from their experiences hiking with fellow survivors of cancer. The broaden-and-build concept embraces aspects of social support, posttraumatic growth, life course development, and subjective well-being, thus suggesting its value in articulating the positive growth of those who participated in the program and this study. Through semi-structured interviews, survivors of cancer shared stories about their participation in the hiking program, and how it was beneficial to their recovery process and discovery of their Bnew normal.K eywords Cancer . Leisure . Positive psychology . NatureIt was an early winter morning and the temperature was low and the breeze was stiff. We had a small group out hiking that day, just seven of us in total, broken up in to two groups. I was up at the front of the pack with Paula (70, breast cancer, double mastectomy) and Clara (59, breast cancer), and Paula mentioned that she was celebrating her five year mark of Bno evidence of disease^(NED). Clara perked up, smiled, and said, BI'll be there in six months!^Then Paula said, BYou know, I feel like I've come a long way from that diagnosis. I was down in the dumps for a while, but now, now I know I have a lot to look forward to.^Clara and I both nodded in agreement, and we walked in silence for a while, letting the sun coat our faces and the leaves dance in front of us, seemingly a celebration of her accomplishment. -From the author's journal Int J Sociol Leis (2018) 1:215-226 https://doi

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“…Although quality of life can diminish, it often improves, with many cancer survivors experiencing a new appreciation of life and improved interpersonal relationships, generally referred to as "posttraumatic growth" (e.g., Connerty & Knott, 2013;Park et al, 2010;Tedeschi, Tedeschi, Park, & Calhoun, 1998).…”

Section: Emotional Processing In Cancer Survivorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experienced meditators, cancer survivors, and matched controls assemble different neural resources to process emotion

Bauer‐Wu¹,

Butler²,

Rajendra³

et al. 2017

Preprint

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According to constructivist theories of emotion, members of different populations experience emotion differently as a result of assembling different neural resources to produce it. To test this prediction, we sampled individuals from three populations (experienced meditators, cancer survivors, matched controls) and used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess their neural responses to four kinds of affective phrases (positive cancer, negative cancer, positive non-cancer, negative noncancer). As predicted, the three populations responded differently to these affective phrases. When assessing neural activity for positive vs. negative phrases, controls showed the standard negativity bias reported in the emotion literature, cancer survivors showed a positivity bias (perhaps related to personal growth following cancer), and experienced meditators showed no bias (perhaps reflecting the mental quality of equanimity established through regular meditation practice). When assessing neural activity for positively-valenced cancer vs. non-cancer phrases, controls exhibited difficulty engaging with the cancer phrases, engaging much more with the non-cancer phrases instead. In contrast, experienced meditators and cancer survivors engaged more with the cancer phrases, while exhibiting different affective styles. Together these results indicate that experienced meditators, cancer survivors, and matched controls assemble different neural resources to process emotion.Keywords: emotion, constructivist theory, grounded cognition, meditators, cancer patients Population Differences in Emotion 3According to constructivist theories of emotion, an emotional state results from assembling perceptual, cognitive, interoceptive, and motor resources relevant for comprehending an emotional situation and coping with it effectively (Barrett, 2006a(Barrett, , 2006bGendron & Feldman Barrett, 2009;Wilson-Mendenhall, Barrett, Simmons, & Barsalou, 2011). To see how this account works, imagine that a distressed man enters your workplace, and begins firing a gun wildly in the air. According to constructivist theories, perceptual processes enable you to recognize that a distressed person and a gun are present; cognitive processes indicate that you and others are threatened, anticipating the potential implications; your body might become aroused to the point of panic, with your heart racing and breath catching; your motor system might freeze initially and then prepare to flee. From the constructivist perspective, your brain has activated neural resources that are well suited for understanding and coping with this particular emotional situation. As a result of all these processes becoming active and assembled together coherently, they produce one of many possible states of fear. Now imagine instead that, on previous occasions, you practiced assembling a different set of neural resources in this type of situation. For example, your employer might have provided you with training on how to coolly handle such situations in your workplace...

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Promoting positive change in the face of adversity: experiences of cancer and post-traumatic growth

Cited by 70 publications

References 19 publications

Why Do Young People Engage in Delinquency and Problem Drinking? Views From Adolescents and Stakeholders

Why Do Young People Engage in Delinquency and Problem Drinking? Views From Adolescents and Stakeholders

Celebrate the Trail to Recovery: Power of the Positive Post-Diagnosis of Cancer

Experienced meditators, cancer survivors, and matched controls assemble different neural resources to process emotion

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