Resilience in the Face of Serious Illness Among Chronically Ill African Americans in Later Life

Abstract

This research attests to the importance of examining racism in the analysis of how older ethnic minorities live with chronic illness, as it provides the context for understanding the development of culturally specific philosophies about illness. Resilience, as a culturally specific philosophy, is an important adjunct to chronic illness management in later life, and more needs to be understood about the dimensions that shape it by cultural group.

Striving for Control: Cognitive, Self-Care, and Faith Strategies Employed by Vulnerable Black and White Older Adults with Multiple Chronic Conditions

“…Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults have at least one and an average of three physician contacts annually, demonstrating accessibility of and commitment to conventional biomedicine (Cherry and Woodwell 2002). As Becker has reported (Becker and Newsom 2005), African-American elders generally have shown extensive involvement with allopathic health care providers; such an observation is corroborated by NHANES data revealing that 92% and 88% of Whites and Blacks, respectively, report having at least one primary source of ambulatory conventional health care; of these individuals, 83-90% visited at least semi-annually and 62-68% made quarterly visits (Cherry and Woodwell 2002). Given the regularity and frequency of such visits, it makes sense that most participants in this study draw heavily on physicians' recommendations for self-care as a way to stay in control of their multiple morbidities.…”

Engendering Immigrant Psychology: An Intersectionality Perspective

“…Research on JH on Asian Americans illustrates the usefulness of JH as a measure of resilience for other ethnic minorities. It seems idealized self beliefs, such as JH, indeed help ethnic minority men and women to cope with depression, everyday stressors ) and chronic illnesses (Becker and Newsom 2005). Interestingly, as noted by many immigrant researchers, such idealizations are also gendered and affect the lives of immigrant men and women in complex ways (e.g., Espiritu 2001).…”

Variability Over Time-Since- Diagnosis in the Protective Effect of Psychological Resilience Against Depression in Australian Prostate Cancer Patients

“…As well as having been reported to intervene between the experience of traumatic events and the individual's later return to optimism in the face of such occurrences as old age (Jopp & Rott, 2006), chronic pain (Karoly & Reuhlman, 2006), and terrorist attack (Bonanno et al, 2007), resilience assists individuals to overcome the experience of trauma during early childhood and to progress to normal and satisfying lives (Watt, David, Ladd, & Shamos, 1995) and can reduce depression induced by stressful events (Andreescu et al, 2007). Resilience has also been reported to influence physical health, for example, as a protective effect against coronary heart disease in a 10-year study of 1,306 men (Kubzansky, Sparrow, Vokonas, & Kawachi, 2001), chronic illness in adults (Becker & Newsom, 2005) and children (Vinson, 2002), and in helping avoid the onset of illness (Yi, Smith, & Vitaliano, 2005). Initially investigated as a psychological variable, resilience has a biological basis that relies on plasticity of the reward and fear circuits in the brain (Bergstrom, Jayatissa, Thykjaer, & Wiborg, 2007), suggesting that resilience may be learnt and that preventative as well as treatment modalities should be considered (Haglund, Nestadt, Cooper, Southwick, & Charney, 2007).…”