Resilience and Coping With Trauma: Does Gender Make a Difference?

Abstract

The goal of this article is to explore an enhanced version of the Holocaust Survivorship Model with the addition of a stress, appraisal, and coping model. Data from the entire sample (N = 133), along with a randomly selected sub-sample of men (n = 10) and women (n = 10), were used to assess similarities and differences in the ways in which male and female survivors (1) responded to survey questions related to resilience, (2) reported their own favorable or unfavorable resolution of Erikson's eight stages of development, and (3) perceived other survivors' resolution of the eight life stages. The study also explores the role of gender within the context of the stress, appraisal, and coping model. The findings suggest that there are limited differences between male and female survivors in terms of perceived resilience, self-reported resolution of Erikson's life stages, and perceptions of other survivors' resolution of Erikson's life stages. However, gender differences did manifest in survivors' primary and secondary appraisals of their own experiences and in the types of coping skills they employed.

KEYWORDS:

• Holocaust survivorship model
• stress
• appraisal
• coping framework

Notes

This research was funded by Grant 10282 from the John Templeton Foundation: Roberta R. Greene (principal investigator); Marilyn Armour, Harriet L. Cohen, Constance Corley, and Carmen Morano (co-investigators); Shira Hantman (statistical consultant); and Sandra A. Graham (project manager). The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

Note. *p < .05.

*Chi-square = 7.35, p < .05, df = 2.

Note. *p < .05.

Note. *p < .05.

Note. *p < .05.