Using sleep dysfunction to explore the nature of resilience in adult survivors of childhood abuse or trauma
Abstract
Objective In early studies, resilience to trauma was equated with psychological well-being. This study explores the possibility that such resilience is better described as social-behavioral competency and that, in turn, such competency can conceal emotional pain.Method A university sample of 97 participants, 79 women and 18 men, completed measures of childhood abuse and trauma, resilient characteristics, and sleep dysfunction. The measures of sleep problems could be divided into those tapping psychological well-being (e.g., nightmare frequency) and those reflecting social-behavioral functioning (e.g., measures of the impact of nightmares on waking functioning).Results Fifty-three participants reported experiencing one or more types of trauma or abuse in childhood. As a group they scored more negatively than those reporting no abuse on measures of sleep dysfunction. Resilient characteristics were only related to measures of social-behavioral functioning, not well-being.Conclusions The findings are consistent with current conceptualizations of trauma/abuse recovery as involving multiple dimensions of functioning, some of which are more publicly observable than others. Therefore, some apparently resilient individuals may have good social-behavioral competency while still experiencing psychological pain.
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Adverse experiences before age 14, compared to no adversity, led to more frequent recall of nightmares, more distress from nightmares, and greater waking impact of nightmares.
“A second study (58) demonstrated that adverse experiences before age 14, compared to no adversity, led to more frequent recall of nightmares, more distress from nightmares, and greater waking impact of nightmares.”
From The Stress Acceleration Hypothesis of Nightmares (2017) · cites this paper as [58]
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- Authors
- Chambers, E., & Belicki, K.
- Affiliations
- Brock University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Belicki, Kathy
- Venue
- Child Abuse & Neglect
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1998-08
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 753-758
- ISSN
- 0145-2134 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2010677910
- Cited by
- 74
- References
- 13
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 0.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Child Abuse & Neglect (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Resilience and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and related disorders
- Keywords
- resilience, childhood abuse, childhood trauma, sleep disorders, nightmares, psychological well-being, emotional pain, trauma recovery, adult survivors
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Child, Child Abuse, Female, Humans, Male, Sleep Wake Disorders, Social Adjustment
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