Resilience and Posttraumatic Growth of Breast Cancer Survivors - Paperback

by Zavanna Cordelia (Author)

Although there is an abundance of information in the literature pertaining to breast cancer

resiliency and posttraumatic growth, research on the impact of early-life experiences that either

promote or detract from psychological growth in survivorship is lacking. This study investigated

whether resiliency and posttraumatic growth determined from some types of abusive experiences

during childhood mediate further growth when confronted with subsequent traumatic

experiences in adulthood, specifically breast cancer treatment/survival. Data were collected

through participant self-report of information using a retrospective questionnaire on perceived

childhood discipline and abuse, resiliency, and posttraumatic growth. Specifically, the Emotional

and Physical Abuse Questionnaire (EPAB) served as the abuse measure. The Predictive 6-Factor

Resilience Scale (PR6) was used to measure resilience, while the Posttraumatic Growth

Inventory (PTGI) measured posttraumatic growth. Results revealed that mild and severe

physical abuse as well as greater degrees of emotional abuse were significantly positively

associated with

posttraumatic growth. Emotional abuse was associated with resilience specifically when

survivors experience a sense of physical and emotional wellbeing, while physical abuse was not

associated with resilience even when considering wellbeing factors.