ABSTRACT
Recent developments in positive psychology underscore the potential benefit of focusing on resilience factors rather than psychiatric illness or symptoms. Resilience can be defined as a set of qualities that can be multidimensional and enable an individual to persevere through adversity. Both internal and external stressors are constant in a person’s life and one’s ability to cope affects their resilience. Sometimes, one’s ability to cope is unsuccessful and can result in self-destructive behaviors. Obtaining information on risk factors is important in identifying personal and environmental issues that contribute to self-destructive behaviors. These behaviors have been described as wide-ranging acts of harm to self, including suicidal behaviors, nonsuicidal self-injury, and recklessness. Direct and indirect subtypes of self-destructive behaviors are important to understand and will be explored. Past and childhood trauma is known to be a strong predictor of self-harming behavior into adulthood. Further, post-traumatic stress disorder diagnoses are strongly correlated with prevalence of suicide attempts. The literature indicates that other risk factors include psychiatric illness, socioeconomic disadvantages, early and late adulthood, sexual orientation, and military/veteran status. Additionally, self-harming behavior is a predictor for suicide attempts, with a suicide completion rate of 5% for up to 9 years after hospitalization for self-harm. Research shows that adolescents, military/veteran, and ethnically and sexually diverse populations are most at risk. Several cultural aspects within these groups will be explored to show potential protective factors which can be applied to the individual. It is important to understand the factors that relate to resilience in dealing with negative effects of trauma and stress, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illness. Successful evidence-based resilience programs within each of these at-risk groups will be discussed along with implications for further research.
