Transcending the Negative: Spiritual Struggles and Resilience in Older Female Trauma Survivors

Abstract

Qualitative data were gathered during a spiritually focused intervention with older women. Participants (n = 36) had experienced some combination of childhood sexual or physical abuse, emotional abuse, domestic violence, and/or sexual assault over their life span. The women described an array of positive spiritual coping strategies, including their persistent action to find God by transcending negative or "man-made" images of God given to them by their religious traditions. They reported persistence in their faith journeys despite spiritual struggles with God, clergy, and their church communities. These findings have implications for mental health practitioners and clergy who work with older women.

Traumatic Dissociation as a Predictor of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in South African Female Rape Survivors

“… 35 Protective factors against the development of PTSD in rape and sexual assault survivors include positive social support, 22 , 36 – 38 strong religious beliefs, 39 positive coping styles, 38 , 40 , 41 self-efficacy, 41 , 42 parental affection, 18 high internal locus of control, 41 and the finding of meaning in the experience. 37 , 39 Various studies have found a link between unresolved attachment (in adults), disorganized/insecure attachment (in infants), and increased likelihood of traumatic dissociation and PTSD symptom severity. 43 – 48 Insecure attachment is related to social withdrawal and a lack of confidence in exploring new relationships and eliciting support from others, which leads to lower levels of social support following trauma.…”

Negative Religious Coping as a Mediator of Trauma Symptoms in Older Survivors

“…Dimensions of forgiveness include forgiveness of self, forgiveness of other, and forgiveness by God (Idler, 1999). Forgiveness of self and other may be experienced as a gift from God, as the grace that enables new life and possibilities in spite of violation (see Bowland et al, 2011). Some survivors also believe that in the aftermath of their traumatic experiences they have acted in ways that were unforgivable by God (promiscuity, substance abuse, neglecting or abusing their own children).…”

“…The hypotheses that the intervention would reduce depressive symptoms, anxiety, and somatic symptoms were supported at posttest and gains were maintained at 3-month follow up. More information about the original study, including the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and recruitment of participants is published elsewhere (see Bowland, Biswas, Kyriakakis, & Edmond, 2011;Bowland, Edmond, & Fallot, 2012;Bright & Bowland, 2008).…”

Engaging with faith groups to prevent VAWG in conflict-affected communities: results from two community surveys in the DRC

“…Believers turn to their faith leaders and faith communities in challenging times. Various studies have shown how sexual violence survivors see their faith, faith leader and faith communities as having the ability to provide the support and solace that they need in order to deal with what happened to them [12,14,16,19,24]. Even if survivors are not receiving it, they believe that it can and should be provided.…”

“…Some religious beliefs and practices make it harder to cope and integrate traumatic experiences [ 12 , 13 ]. Furthermore, faith and faith institutions have been blamed for often perpetuating the unequal gender constructs, stigma and discrimination that contributes to the perpetration and normalisation of VAWG, as well as for ostracizing VAWG survivors, especially survivors of sexual violence [ 12 , 14 – 16 ]. With “patriarchy ha(ving) God on its side” [ 17 ], religion is recognised by some as being a key patriarchal structure within society.…”