Exploring the phenomenon of resilience with a child survivor of abuse

Abstract

The purpose of this voyage is to explore the phenomenon of resilience with a South African child survivor of abuse. This research may be used to foreground elements in narrative conversations that can be employed to enhance resilience in other child survivors of abuse. The collaborator was identified using a constructivist approach of selection, incorporating the Indigenous Knowledge of the staff involved in the care of abuse survivors in a place of safety. The selection work session led to the generation of an operationalisation of the concept resilience, as well as an observation schedule for resilience specific to this environment. A 16-year-old female collaborator was identified as resilient for the purpose of this research. A number of in-depth interviews with the collaborator were conducted whilst the collaborator was in the place of safety, as well as after her move to a children’s home. Narratives about the collaborator’s life were generated and computer aided qualitative data analysis was undertaken. This facilitated the generation of networks of codes which allow for the representation of the particular resilience processes present in the collaborator. In this study the ability to adapt and utilise new environments is identified as a major factor in the collaborator’s resilience.