ABSTRACT
Posttraumatic growth is a phenomenon most commonly explored at the individual level. This chapter looks at the evidence for collective posttraumatic growth at the community level and explores the characteristics most indicative of the development of resilient communities. Evidence suggests that much human experience is closely related to a sense of identity and membership in social groups often defined by race, gender, religion, geography, and/or socio-economic status. The literature also provides a commentary on the loss of social cohesion and sense of connectedness in many areas of the modern world. Where individuals in one community are unable to activate their social networks because they have not existed prior to a major event, how do these communities go about developing a collective reframing of a shared experience and becoming more resilient? Can the shared experience of a major disruption/traumatic event build resilience and foster salutogenesis as demonstrated by Antonovsky (1987) in his work on survivors of the holocaust?
