Exploring Sources of Resilience in Adversity: A Despcriptive Research Report among a Group of Vietnamese

Department of Psychology, HCM University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

*Corresponding author: Thanh Tu Thi Nguyen, PhD, Department of Psychology, HCM University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, Email: [email protected].

Received Date: October 10, 2023

Published Date: November 06, 2023

Citation: Nguyen TTT, et al. (2023). Exploring Sources of Resilience in Adversity: A Despcriptive Research Report among a Group of Vietnamese. Mathews J Psychiatry Ment Health. 8(4):44.

Copyrights: Nguyen TTT, et al. © (2023).

BACKGROUND

Corona 2019 happened and changed people’s ways of relating, of taking action, of thinking and of perceiving due to its unpredictable nature. It was reported that these would affect people’s PTSD, somatic complaints, anxiety, fatigue, and feelings of helplessness [1]. Yet, in our national survey on 1359 participants in August 2021, there were 48 people (0.04%) who had thoughts about death. This research data may raise the question that the remaining majority (99.06%) of those who have no thoughts of death, does the pandemic not affect them? Therefore, this mid-method design research aims to explore resilient factors (e.g., personal resources, meaning of life, community support, Creator/nature-Connor-Davidon, 2010) in the face of adversity. The study was divided into two stages. On the quantitative stage, a set of the questionnaires on social demographics, Brief symptom Inventories and resilience [2] were administered to 1359 participants; then the qualitative study with open ended questions were sent and had 53 responses. This report focuses on the descriptive information of resilience to have a better understanding about the participant's situations.

Keywords: Adversity, PTSD, Resilience.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the sources of resilience in adversity among a group of Vietnamese in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the concept of resilience reflects a state of being that evolves over time, a positive outcome. This ability increases not only internal resources but also external resources (also known as protective factors), which include self-confidence, perseverance, and resilience. As support systems, but also the ability to adapt and find meaning in the face of crisis. In Vietnam, the concept of "mental health" has been mentioned and popular for about 10 years now. However, we did not find any domestic professional documents defining "resilience". Based on various English and Vietnamese documents, we define that: “mental resilience is a person's internal strength that helps them adapt and overcome adversity." This definition is also similar to the definition mentioned in the study on the spiritual resilience of Vietnamese people in Canada.

Various studies have allowed the identification of some common factors of high mental resilience. For example, people with high emotional resilience have family cohesion and social support; adjustment and problem-solving skills, coping abilities and high self-esteem, having a solid understanding of reality, having deep, meaningful belief systems, and the ability to adaptability. They are aware and tolerant of their own and other people's emotions, and have strong faith in the future. On the other hand, Luthans and Youssef (2007) found that values and beliefs are related to maintaining mental resilience.

We can "measure" a person's mental resilience when putting them in adversity. There are people who will feel depressed, immersed in suffering, or in a victim's mindset. Yet, people who possess good resilience will be able to adapt to all situations, find ways to revive their spirit and recover. Conor-Davidson (2003) [2], an expert in researching people who experience adversity and trauma, developed the mental resilience scale (Connor-Davidson, CD-RISC) with 25 items including 4 components: Self- efficacy self -efficacy (self-efficacy, meaning the ability to mobilize internal resources); Adaptability (adaptation, meaning optimism, having a positive view of situations and oneself and adjusting to adapt); Ability to mobilize resources (Resourcefulness, meaning seeking support); and purpose of life (Purpose of life, meaning understanding the value and meaning of life, understanding why we need to get up). Next section will discuss on The Methodology.

METHODS

The descriptive information on resources of resilience was conducted on August 9, 2021 with 1359 responses. Using an online form on which participants’s descriptive information (e.g., how would you manage your life in the quarantine areas? What nurtured you during the pandemic 19? Do you practice your faith?) were collected . Then, Spss 26 has been used for data analysis. Data was collected in the forms of descriptive information and in the narrative forms.

RESULTS

Of those 1359 participants in the quantitative demographics findings, it was found that strength in adversity is in the forms of personal resources (729; 54.5%), secondly, having meaning of life (264; 19.7%); thirdly: having community support (267;20%); finally, tuning into Nature and Creator (18;5.8%).

CONCLUSION

During the epidemic outbreak, a group of Vietnamese people's resilience was explored. In this study, resilience was found in the form of personal resources, meaning of life, having community support and turning to Nature and Creator. This finding finds its resonance with Harvey's (2017) in the area of post-traumatic recovery where people started to connect with self and others [3,4].

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This research is funded by the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM) under the grant number C2022-18b-01.

REFERENCES

1. Manchia M, Gathier AW, Yapici-Eser H, Schmidt MV, de Quervain D, van Amelsvoort T, et al. (2022). The impact of the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic on stress resilience and mental health: A critical review across waves. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 55:22-83.
2. Connor-Davison (2019). Brief Resilience Scale (BRS). Available at: https://www.psychu.org/brief-resilience-scale-brs/.
3. Harvey MR. (1996). An ecological view of psychological trauma and trauma recovery. J Trauma Stress. 9(1):3-23.
4. Derogatis LR. (1982). Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). APA Psyc Tests. DOI: 10.1037/t00789-000.