| The world is fraught with manmade or natural crises and disasters. Consequently, there is the likelihood that each individual in a lifetime will experience a trauma-causing crisis. Some individuals break down due to the impact of the crisis they experience. Some individuals who suffer the same crisis that makes others break down can quickly bounce back. This research study determined the significant relationship between positive emotions and psychological resilience in persons experiencing traumatic crisis. A quantitative, correlational design was used for this study. The sample size (n = 159) was chosen by simple random sample from a population (N = 500) who survived or witnessed the September 11, 2001, attack in New York City. The researcher modified the 2003 Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale to create a 30-item instrument; each item was rated on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 ( strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). After four hypotheses were tested, the results revealed a significant relationship between positive emotions and psychological resilience. This study found that individuals who possessed a positive attitude and mindset in times of traumatic crisis increased their level of psychological resilience. Individuals who accessed family resource support in times of trauma-causing events increased their level of psychological resilience. The findings from this study will serve as an invaluable counseling tool for human services and mental health counselors, to enable them to better render services to traumatized individuals in crisis. Further study may consider a causal effect between variables used in this study and differences in female and male resilience ability. |
