Page 64 - JSOM Summer 2019

Scott et al. used mixed methods to develop their own resilience of trauma, though surely unintentional, imbued children with
scale, based on the CD-RISC. Their study is unique in that main clinical domains of PTSD: hypervigilance, avoidance,
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one SF Servicemember participated in the qualitative portion. and dissociation. 44,63 The researchers’ choice to study effects
Though Scott et al. used the CD-RISC in this study, they did of war and PTSD on veterans’ children is interesting because
not report quantitative results of participants’ CD-RISC scores they assumed external forces caused transmitted trauma; first
other than to describe CD-RISC factor analyses of their new was war, upon the veteran, then second was the PTSD of the
instrument in comparison. 59 veteran transmitted to the child. Although titular nomencla-
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ture indicated Song et al. had concurrently studied resilience in
Resilience was deemed present by Scott et al. if participants this population, within the manuscript, “resilience” was only
indicated in qualitative interviews that they attempted to over- found in the title. 63
come adversity. The authors reported quantitative results for
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their investigator-created deployment stress scales, yet, regard- In studying resilience in 20 Muslim Soldiers in the American
ing the CD-RISC they used as an instrument of measurement, military, Abu-Ras and Hosein used grounded theory meth-
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their reporting of CD-RISC results was limited to qualitative odology, and reported using that method for analysis of col-
descriptions (e.g., “our factor analysis [of the CD-RISC] con- lected data. As stated by the authors: “[G]rounded thematic
firmed the single-construct integrity of [investigator-created] analysis guided the processing of qualitative interview data,”
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10 items.” Scott et al. did not report numeric scores from yet Abu-Ras and Hosein did not delve further into how
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extant resilience scales they administered to their participants grounded theory specifically provided structure other than for
(i.e., the CD-RISC, the PCL-M, and the post-traumatic growth their analyses. Abu-Ras and Hosein stated interest in specific
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inventory. 59 demographic variables of possible influence, portending an
ethnographic approach as “ethnicity, rank, gender, [Muslim]
Qualitative Literature on Resilience conversion status, branches of service, immigration status, re-
Qualitative military resilience research was scant but rich in ligious disclosure, and the post-9/11 political climate” affected
depth, and descriptions of what constitutes resilience were their resilience differently than non-Muslim Servicemembers. 64
more detailed and explicit in comparison with quantitative re-
silience research. Participants in qualitative resilience research Abu-Ras and Hosein identified spirituality and community as
were more heterogenous demographically than in quantitative central to resilience in Muslim military persons: “Islam’s defi-
studies. In their study of 201 transgender veterans’ resilience, nition of spirituality has a unique impact and may have differ-
Chen et al. described social structures as essential to resil- ent meanings on [Muslim military persons’] resiliency.” For
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ience, namely community involvement, activism, social sup- Muslims in the military, their spirituality may become a risk
port, and interpersonal connections such as friendships and factor, not a protective factor; several participants stated they
relationships. They provide ample justification for their use felt they had to hide their religious practices from military col-
of minority stress theory, in which societal conditions (e.g., leagues, especially after the attacks of September 11, 2001, in
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stigma, prejudice, and discrimination) have deleterious effects which middle-eastern persons killed thousands of Americans.
on mental health. Through thematic analysis, the authors de- Islam provided deep senses of personal values and a sense of
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scribed transgendered veterans’ (per the authors’ description: community when practiced within their faith communities,
the transgendered community’s association accept “trans- yet being an openly practicing Muslim in their military units
vets” as an abbreviation) sense of resilience as exemplified by sometimes resulted in Muslim Soldiers feeling ostracized by
personal pride, being one’s authentic self, and overcoming ad- non-Muslim colleagues. 64
versity. Participants cited military service as instrumental to
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their resilience in overcoming obstacles as a trans-vet: “I am a These themes suggest that when other military resilience re-
warrior on multiple levels” and “The strength I gained in the searchers hark to “spirituality” or “spiritual fitness” as a
military has allowed me to transition.” 60 subscale construct or essential element of resilience, those
investigators implicitly imply a paradigm of Judeo-Christian
Somasundaram and Sivayokan studied resilience in north- spirituality, which is widespread and accepted throughout the
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ern Sri Lankan environments, in which citizens experienced United States and its military. Muslim Servicemembers may
and participated in over 30 years of combat, armed conflict, feel the need to obfuscate their spirituality to remain resilient
and displacement from their homes. Using an ethnographic in their Servicemember roles, which, in turn, could negatively
qualitative design, the authors found protective factors were affect their resilience.
instrumental in resilience; families remained intact, especially
with strong matriarchal influences, in addition to participants Discussion
developing aesthetic narratives of their experience, which ap-
peared to endow more hope in the participants. Though eth- We were unable to examine independent resilience research
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nographic in design, Somasundaram and Sivayokan used an conducted specifically with populations of SOF personnel in
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ecological model to examine participant experiences. Using an SOF units, because none exists at the time of this writing. To
ethnographic paradigm would presumably emphasize partici- our knowledge, in 32 studies of military resilience we exam-
pants’ cultural influences over an ecological approach, which ined, only one study had a participant who identified as SF in
entails examining participants as embedded in micro- to mac- a sample of more than 400. Quantitative resilience research
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rosystems at corresponding levels. 61, 62 with military participants varied widely in defining resilience,
with resultant variance in how resilience was operationalized
Among veterans of the Vietnam war, Song et al. proposed for measurement. Such disparity in definitions likely precludes
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the presence of PTSD affected those veterans’ children’s trau- consistent and accurate measurement. We found one qua-
matic stress greater than veterans’ actual PTSD stemming si-experimental study wherein resilience training was present
from personal involvement in direct combat. Such osmoses in a specific group and compared with a nontreatment group

62 | JSOM Volume 19, Edition 2 / Summer 2019