Resilience, Trauma, and Cultural Norms Regarding Disclosure of Mental Health Problems among Foreign-Born and US-Born Filipino American Women.

Resilience refers to a set of personal qualities and abilities that allow an individual to confront challenges, risks, or traumatic experiences in an integrated manner and to thrive in the face of significant adversities. This cross-sectional study explores resilience, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and family norms with disclosure of mental health problems (FNAD) in a sample of 182 Filipino American women (FAW). Participants completed survey measures of resilience, PTSD, and FNAD and open-ended questions about beliefs and reasons for (not) disclosing mental health problems outside the family. Previous research found that the rates of psychological trauma and depression among FAW are higher than those in other Asian ethnic groups, which makes it necessary to investigate the protective characteristic of resilience among FAW. According to our results, foreign-born FAW had a significantly lower PTSD and greater resilience as compared to their US-born counterparts. A significant negative relationship between PTSD and resilience was observed only among foreign-born FAW. We also found a conditional moderating effect of FNAD on the negative relationship between resilience and PTSD. The results of our qualitative analysis of the participants' responses to the open-ended questions of the survey showed that FAW's family norms of nondisclosure are related to the cultural value of "saving face," a salient cultural construct among Asian family members. Results suggest that protective properties of resilience against PTSD are influenced by cultural factors, such as FNAD. Taken together, our findings underscore the importance of considering the impact of collectivistic cultural values (e.g., FNAD) in future research on resilience among Asian Americans.

Promoting Resilience Among College Student Veterans Through an Acceptance-and-Commitment-Therapy App: An Intervention Refinement Study.

Military veterans' stigmatized views on mental disorders and traditional mental health care considerably reduce veterans' access to mental health services. The present study aimed to refine a previously developed non-stigmatizing smartphone-app intervention based on the principles of acceptance and commitment therapy for college student veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). To this end, we tested the acceptability of the developed prototype using a mixed-method study design. A total of nine student veterans participated in the study by using the app intervention and completing pre-post study measures and a post-intervention qualitative interview. The results showed that the intervention was highly acceptable. The results of the qualitative data analysis highlighted relevant themes related to strategies for improving the content, delivery, and structure of the intervention. The results also showed that, despite a decrease in the participants' adherence as the intervention progressed, there was a consistent improvement in the participants' resilience, PTSD, and rumination. Based on the results, the intervention was revised for prospective feasibility and efficacy testing. Our results highlight the need to use a collaborative approach in the early stage of the development of self-management PTSD interventions.

Resilience and psychological trauma among Filipino American women.

AIMS: To explore the types of traumatic exposure, prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and level of resilience in a community sample of Filipino American women (FAW), as well as to investigate the relationships between their PTSD symptoms, history of traumatic exposure, and resilience. METHOD: A cross-sectional study with a total of 188 adult FAW. RESULTS: We observed high levels of resilience and low levels of PTSD symptom severity. The most common form of traumatic exposure was non-interpersonal trauma occurring after the age of 18 years old. We also found a significant correlation between history of traumatic exposure and PTSD and between resilience and PTSD. Resilience was found to have a significant moderating effect on the relationship between traumatic exposure and PTSD. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide preliminary evidence on the buffering and protective properties of FAW's resilience to PTSD despite traumatic exposure.

Student Veterans' Coping with Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms: A Glaserian Grounded Theory Study.

The present study investigated the ways in which student military veterans cope with their posttraumatic stress symptoms. The participants were a total of 21 military veterans attending a U.S. university. The results of the grounded theory data analysis reveal the core category of modulating intrusions, a process indicating how student veterans cope with recurrent and unwanted posttraumatic stress experiences. Our findings also demonstrate that veterans cope by either avoiding or allowing themselves to experience the pain associated from their traumatic experiences. The proposed framework can be meaningfully used to facilitate the development of adaptive coping among veterans with posttraumatic stress.

Exploring Challenges in Conducting E-Mental Health Research Among Asian American Women.

In this discussion paper, we explore the challenges of conducting e-mental health intervention research among Asian American women and propose a model for addressing these barriers. Based on an extensive literature review, we identify two main types of barriers to conducting e-mental health intervention research among Asian American women: recruitment barriers and adherence barriers. Recruitment barriers are further subcategorized into those related to (1) stigmatized cultural beliefs about mental illness and mental health services; (2) lack of awareness about mental health services; and (3) language barrier. As to adherence barriers, the two identified subtypes concern (1) acuity and severity of mental health condition; and (2) lack of time. In order to enhance recruitment and adherence in e-mental health intervention research among the studied population, we formulate the following three main research strategies, namely: (1) considering the cultural and social contexts of Asian American women in the development of e-mental health interventions; (2) determining appropriate program length; and (3) conducting feasibility studies to test e-mental health interventions. We suggest that nurse researchers integrate our proposed model in conducting e-mental health interventions among Asian American women. Our proposed model also implies that nurses play an important role in encouraging Asian American women's acceptance of and adherence to e-mental health interventions. In order to overcome the obstacles to conducting e-mental health research among Asian American women, we recommend that nurses familiarize themselves with credible, relevant, and evidence-based e-mental health resources and integrate online mental health services and information within their nursing practice.