A Retrospective Study on the Relationships between Complex Trauma, Family Environment, Family Cohesion, Resilience, and Depression in Young Adults
Open Access
- Author:
- Daniels, Aubrey
- Graduate Program:
- Counselor Education
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- May 23, 2019
- Committee Members:
- Julia A Green Bryan, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Jolynn Carney, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Diandra Janelle Prescod, Committee Member
Carlomagno Del Carmen Panlilio, Committee Member
Kenneth Levy, Outside Member - Keywords:
- Complex Trauma
Resilience
Depression
Family
Cohesion
Family Environment
Family Cohesion
Counseling
Counselor Education
Mental Health
School Counselors
Higher Education
Trauma
Counselor Supervision - Abstract:
- Much of the research focused on complex trauma demonstrates the negative impact it can have on individuals. However, with a movement focused on providing trauma-informed-care, building resilience, and utilizing a strengths-based approach, it is important for more research to be conducted to find factors that may lead to resilience for individuals who have experienced complex trauma. This quantitative dissertation begins with an overview of the research on complex trauma, resilience, family environment, and their relation to mental health outcomes. Furthermore, the present study sought to find if family environment and family cohesion are related to levels of resilience and depression in young adulthood. The sample consisted of 494 young adults aged eighteen to thirty-five. The sample consisted of undergraduate students, graduate students, as well as young adults who are not currently students. Participants were found via social media sites such as, Facebook and Instagram. Correlation analyses and Hierarchical Multiple Linear Regression were utilized to assess each research question. The purpose of the study is to examine the relationship between family environment, family cohesion, resilience, and depression. The scales utilized in this study were the Family Environment Scale (Moos & Moos, 2009), The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (Connor & Davidson, 2003), the ACE Questionnaire (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Felitti, Anda, Nordenberg, Williamson, Spitz, Edwards, & Marks, 1998), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (Spitzer, Kroenke, & Williams, 1999) Findings show that family environment and cohesion are significantly associated with levels of resilience. In one regression model, results indicate that those who experience complex trauma and have low family cohesion and low resilience levels, also experience higher levels of depression. Other models show high levels of family environment are positively correlated to high levels of resilience. Another finding indicated that participants were more likely to respond with ‘no’ when asked if they ever experienced trauma prior to eighteen years of age. However, many participants that scored one or higher on different types of complex trauma demonstrated a lack of knowledge about trauma and its impacts. The discussion section delves into this lack of knowledge as well as mental health stigma. The discussion continues with implications of the study, and a summary of future research to further the line of resilience, complex trauma, and family systems literature in Counselor Education and Supervision.