Psychological Resilience- A Comparative Case Study among Two Women Cancer Survivors

Abstract

Psychological resilience is one’s ability to adapt to stressful situations. Diagnosis and treatment of cancer have a profound effect on mental health. Still, there are people who show remarkable mental strength to overcome adversity. The purpose of the study was to understand the “resilience process” among women who are surviving cancer. For the comparative case study, two women with high resilience were screened using the Brief resilience scale and an interview. They deferred to socioeconomic background. Environmental factors, mental operations, and developmental factors have been identified as key components in building resilience against cancer. Study have compared the supportive factors for each participant as well as their challenges and learn about the interaction process. Identified resilience characteristics coded with reference to Cannon-Davidson resilience scale. In both cases, their adversities interacted with their supportive elements, resulting in resilience to cancer. Thes resilience processes of participants differed according to their interactions with adversities and protective factors. The study recommends more qualitative studies in the resilience process in cancer survival.