edición: Editorial:
EL FLAUTISTA DE HAMELIN Libro: Cuentos Clásicos.
DatawascollectedbyinͲdepth,semiͲstructuredinterviewsoveraperiodofoneweek. Five interviewswereheldinthehomesofparticipantsand4wereheldattheofficeoftheFamilialTrust. The interviews took between 1 to 2 hours in duration and were audioͲrecorded for later transcriptionbymyself.
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BeforetheinterviewIemailedorpostedallparticipantsacopyoftheinformationsheet,flyer, guidinginterviewquestions(appendix7)andtwocopiesoftheconsenttodiscloseform(appendix 8).AtthetimeoftheinterviewIalsohandedtheparticipantanothercopyoftheinformationsheet, explainedthecontentstothemandprovidedanopportunityforthemtoaskquestions.Whenthe participanthadsignedbothcopiesoftheconsentform,Ihandedonebacktothemtokeep. The secondcopy,oncesignedwaskeptwiththeresearchforeventualscanningintoasecurerepository. FrompreviousexperienceasaresearchassistantIfoundthatparticipantswantedtostarttalking immediatelyabouttheirexperiencessooncetheinitialdocumentationwastakencareof,the interview started straight away with just a few preliminary questions to gain biographical information.
Theinterviewquestionswerecharacterizedbyopenendedquestionsexploringtheexperienceof theearthquakesandrecovery,howeverIwasunpreparedforthefindingsthatemerged. Thatis brighteyedandarmedwithmyresearchquestionandastructuredinterviewscheduleIassumed thattheinterviewwouldgoaccordingtomyplan. HowevertherealitywasanallͲencompassing theme,disclosedbyallparticipantsveryearlyintheinterviewprocess,oftrauma. Thistopicwas unexpectedandcameasapersonalshockformetorecogniseitstemmedfromchildhoodabuseand adolescentviolenceand/orneglect.Thattheearthquakeexperiencespaledincomparisonduetoan abruptimmersionintotheirchildhoodmemoriesofneglect,abuse,abandonmentandeventual addictionwasaprofoundjolttomybeliefsystemandinterviewstrategyandconsequentlythecause ofmuchreflectiononmyvalues,beliefsandassumptionswithwhichIhadbasedmyinterview questions. InconversationwithmySupervisoritwasdecidedthattheseunanticipatedthemes wouldbeincorporatedintotheinterviewschedulefortheremaininginterviewstoallowmeto exploretheseexperiencesmorefully.
Moreimportantthanchangestomyinterviewschedulewastheawarenessthatthroughlisteningto thedialogueofparticipantsIrecognisedanoverarchingthemeofresilience. Irecognisedthatno matterhowdistressingtheirstorieswereformetolistento,theycamefromapositionof“thatwas thenandnow’snow”.Itmayseemstrange,buteveryinterviewhadthisthemeanditwasatsome pointintheinterviewthatI“fellinlove”witheachparticipant.Iadmiredtheirstrength,I acknowledged,understoodandgrievedtheirlossanddistressandIcheeredwiththemattheir successes. Thesharingoftheirstoriessetthetoneofmythesisincorporatingtheconceptsof strengthbasedstudyofrecoverywithadaptationasaformofresilience.Fortheparticipantsofthis researchasdiscussedbyTedeschiandCalhoun(2004)andMooneyetal.,(2011)fromdistressthere isgrowth.Participants’acknowledgedthattheirrealityhadchangedandtheyfoundawaytoadapt
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(Paton & Johnston, 2006) their recovery from both the natural disaster events and their rehabilitationfromalcoholism.
3.11
Dataanalysis–fromoralstorytowrittentext
AllinterviewsweretranscribedbymyselfandasthenarrativeswerelistenedtooverandoverasI typedupthedrafts,thepreliminarythemesslowlyemerged.Byconductingalltheinterviewsmyself andtranscribingthedataitwaspossibleto‘hold’muchofthenarrativesinmymind,drawinglinks andparallelsbetweendifferentstorytellersandwritingtheseideasdowninchunksoftext.InitiallyI highlightedtextthatIrecalledasbeingsaidbyanotherparticipantandaddedincolouredtextmy thoughtsofwhyacertainstatementwasmadeorIrelatedittoaparticulartheoryorpieceof literature.Initially,IbelieveIglossedoverthethemesbecauseofmypreviousexperiencewithalcoholand otherdrugtreatmentparadigms. AfterfeedbackwithmySupervisoritwassuggestedthatthis knowledgemaybecommonplaceintheaddictiontreatmentfieldbutitmaynotbeknownwithin theacademicliterature. IspentquitesometimereviewingwhatIknewaboutaddictionasan illness,theparadigmsofrehabilitationandsiftedthroughthetranscriptstofindevidenceofthese concepts. Iwentbacktothetranscriptsandhighlightedinthesamecoloursallexcerptsaround similarthemesthatappearedineachparticipant’snarrativeandcollectedthesethemestogetherin separatedocuments. AfteraprocessofconstantreviewofthenarrativesIthenwenttoGoogle ScholarandenteredstringsoftextusingkeywordsthatbestrepresentedthestorylinesthatI thoughtIhadisolated.Whenreferringtothebodiesofliteraturethatthethemestendedtohavea bestfitwith,threemainthemesemergedthatsolidifiedmyanalysisintoconcretetermsforfurther research.Forexample,thetopicoftraumaticstresswasidentifiedasamajortheme,thatledmeto theworkofvanderKolketal.,(2007)butittooksometimeformetolookbeyondthetraumaofthe narrativestounderstandthatthestressactuallycamefromlivingwiththechronicillnessof addiction,ratherthanbeinggeneratedfromconstantseismicactivity. Anumberofsubthemes werealsoidentifiedthattendedtofallundereachthematicheadingthusaddingafurther dimensiontotheanalysis. Forexample,inJojo’sstory,notonlywasshelivingwiththeconstant stressofaddictionandearthquakesbutwasalsosubjectedtodomesticviolencesituationsand underpressurefromgovernmentalagenciestoperformtotheirexpectations.Similarly,Phoenix, althoughterriblyillwithheraddiction,hadaleapofrecognitionthatwhileshewaspowerlessover theseismicactivityshewasnotpowerless(atsomelevel)overwhatshewasdoingtoherself. Understandingtheselinksbetweenwhatshecouldchangeandwhatshehadnocontrolover strengthenedmybeliefthatthenarrativesreflectedtheliteratureonPostTraumaticGrowth.
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OncethethemeswereidentifiedIselectednarrativesthatbestrepresentedthethemes.Ithenset aboutexplainingwhythenarrativesreflectedthepointIwasmaking,andmythesisanalysishad begun. FollowingthislinkingIincorporatedmyinitialanalysiswithcurrentliteratureandother researchstudyfindings. Thefinalanalysiswastolocatethethemeswithincurrenttheoriesor models. ForexampleAroha’srecognitionoflossandthegriefassociatedwithanewfound perceptionofherlifeaswasted,waslinkedwithcurrenttheoriesaboutambiguouslossinorderto explainthesefindings.
3.13
Withinaframeworkandalongsideatheory
ThisthesishasbeenguidedbythemodelofambiguouslossasdefinedbyBoss(1999)aswellasthe frameworkofPTGdiscussedbySchaefferandMoos(1998)anddevelopedbyTedeschietal.(1998). TheincorporationofrecoverycapitaltheoryasconceptualisedbyCloudandGranfield(2008)isalso blendedwiththesemodels/theoriesalongsidethesocialmodelofrehabilitation(Pledger,2003). Thesefourlenseshavebeenappliedinanattempttounderstandtheimpactthattheseismicactivity anddevastationhadoncurrentlifeandwhenreflectingonpastlifeparticipantexperiencesplusthe developmentandintegrationoftheirposttraumaticgrowthprocess.Schaeffer and Moos’ (1998, p. 100) model of posttraumatic growth (PTG) (appendix 1) conceptualiseswhattheyconsiderarethedeterminantsthatcompriseapositiveoutcomefrom crisis. Withintheirmodeltheyconsider“environmentalandpersonalfactorsshapelifecrisisand theiraftermath”.Theysuggestthatthroughanindivdiual’suniquecopingresponsetheyeitherfinda wayforwardtoagrowthopportunity,orcanbesusceptibletodevelopingapathologicalcondition. TheconceptofPTG(appendix2)wasfurtherdevelopedintoaframeworkbyTedeschiandCalhoun (1998;2004)and“referstopositivepsychologicalchangeexperiencedasaresultofthestrugglewith highlychallenginglifecircumstances”(Tedeschi&Calhoun,2004,p.1). Accordingtothemthese challengesaresignificantandconfrontone’sparadigmsandinherentassumptionsoftenenabling thegrowthopportunitiestocoͲexistwithgreatpersonaldistress. Thereforethesamecognitive processesinvokedtomanagedisturbancecanalsoproducepositivechange. Putanotherway,it couldbesaidthatnoteveryonewhoexperiencesasuddenandunexpecteddisastereventwill developapathologicalcondition,somecould,inthemidstofthetrauma,encounteropportunities thatpositivelychangetheirvalues,beliefsystemsandperceptionsofthemselves. Theymay, followingatraumaticevent,moveforwardinaconscious,reasoneddecisiontoretainandbuildon thisnewknowledge,perceivingthemselvesandtheenvironmentalopportunitiesdifferently.Thisis
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certainlythecaseforallparticipantsofthisresearchproject,althoughtherearedifferingdegreesof changeandgrowth.
Posttraumaticgrowth,accordingtoTedeschiandCalhoun(2004)describestheexperienceofan individual’sdevelopmentthathassurpassedwhatwaspresentbeforeatraumaevent. PTGthen goesbeyondrehabilitation,orareturntoapreviousstateoffunctioning,becauseitisaprofound andtransformativeimprovementinone’slife,atleastinsomeareas.Whatsetsthisconceptapart fromsimilarconcepts2isthekeyaspectthatitisthestrugglewithtrauma(whencopingresources areminimal),ormorecorrectly,thechangedrealitythataccompaniesthetraumaexperience,that createsthegrowthopportunity. TedeschiandCalhoun(2004)pointoutthatitisthecognitive restructuringposttraumathatincorporatesthechangedrealitythatonecandefineasgrowth. A newlevelofperception,setofvaluesandbeliefsystemsthereforeispositive,robustandincludesan affectivecomponentwhichistransformativebyitsverynature,leadingtowisdombuilding,rather thanjustbeing“anintellectualexercise”(Tedeschi&Calhoun,2004,p.4). TheparadoxofPTGis thatthroughsurvivingtraumaonebecomesnotonlyachangedperson,butmuchmorethanone thoughtonecouldbe,thatis,hasachangedidentity.Thisopportunityforchangeoccurswithinfive factorsthatTedeschiandCalhoun(2004,p.6)believedefinethedomainofgrowth.Theyconsider thesefactorstobe“greaterincreasedappreciationforlifeincludingachangedsenseofpriorities; warmer,moreintimaterelationshipswithothers;agreatersenseofpersonalstrength;recognition ofnewpossibilitiesorpathforone’slifeandspiritualdevelopment.”Thedatafromthisresearch wassuggestiveofgrowthratherthanresilienceandthereforeitwasconsideredthatthismaybea moreaptframeworkwithinwhichtoanalysetheresearchfindings.
Indefiningtheambiguouslossmodel(appendix3)Boss(1999,2004)considerstherearetwo situationsthatcancreatethepotentialforambiguousloss.Thefirstsituationofambiguouslossis whenanindividualisphysicallyabsentbutpsychologicallypresentasinadisastersituationwhena loved one is missing but their status is unknown and therefore they are still kept alive psychologicallyinthemindsoftheirlovedones.Thesecondsituationiswhenapersonisphysically presentbutpsychologicallyabsent,suchaswhenanalcoholicisinuntreatedaddiction.Boss(2006) considersthatboththesesituationsofambiguouslosscanoccurconcurrentlywhenconsideringthe
2
TedeschiandCalhoun(2004,p.3)pointoutothertermshavebeenusedtodescribeposttraumaticgrowth
includingstrengthconversion,positivepsychologicalchanges,perceivedbenefitsorconstruingbenefits,
stressͲrelatedgrowth,flourishing,positivebyͲproducts,discoveryofmeaning,positiveemotionsandthriving.
Theypointoutthatthreeconceptsinparticulararelinkedtopositivechangesascopingmechanismsincluding
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scenarioofamissinglovedone. Theabsence/presencedualityisalsothecaseforthoselivingin sustainedrecoveryfromaddiction,forboththoseparticipantsnewtorecoveryorinstablesobriety, aswellasparticipantsrelapsingduringthegreaterearthquakeperiod.Inthisresearchthetheoryof ambiguousloss,firstdefinedbyBoss(1999)isextendedtocoverpsychologicalformsofloss encounteredamongpeoplewithadiagnosedalcoholdependencyfollowinganaturaldisaster.For thepurposesoftheanalysisprovidedinthisthesisthebuildingblockofthetheorybaseduponthe psychological‘family’isreplacedbythepsychological‘lifeofsobriety’. Therefore,thehigherthe incongruencebetweenone’spsychologicallifeofsobriety(theirperceptionofasoberlife)andthe realityoftheirsoberlife,thegreatertheirboundaryambiguity. Fortheaddictinrecoveryor relapsing,boundaryambiguitythenisnotknowingifthegainsmadeinhavingsobrietymakeupfor thelossesincurredinalifeofaddiction.
Thesocialmodelofdisabilityconsiderstherelationalnatureofthedisablingconditionandthe environment.Thatis,theexternalcharacteristics(cultural,politicalandsocialenvironments)rather than personal qualities (impairment, functional status or socioeconomic) creates adisabling condition (Pledger, 2003) or handicap. Whiteneck (1994, p. 1073) defines handicap as “a disadvantagefor…individual[s]thatlimitsorpreventsthefulfilmentofarolethatisnormal…for thatindividual…include[ing]expectedrolessuchasfriend,worker,familyandcommunitymember and…dimensionssuchasoccupation,socialintegrationandeconomicselfͲsufficiency”.Cloudand Granfield(2008,p.1981)pointoutthatthecapacityforsuccessfullyterminatingalcoholdependency isnotequallydistributedacross…society.”Theyconsiderthatitisonessocialstature,theirsocial realities,socialinequalitiesandsocialconditionsthatcreatesubstancemisuseandrecovery.Alcohol dependencyisapersonalproblem,butwithscarcepersonalcapitalespeciallyinapostͲdisaster environment,anyassistancefromthecommunitytobuildalldimensionsofcapitalinanindividual’s lifetosustaintheirsobrietywouldbebeneficialforall(Cloud&Granfield,2008).Thesocialmodel ofdisabilityexaminestherelationshipbetweenthenatureofthedisabilityandtheenvironment withinwhichtherecoveryprocessissituated,particularlythesocioeconomiccontextthatshapethe disabilityandrecoveryexperience.Thisresearchindicatesthatlackofresourcesincludingsocietal awarenessofthenatureofaddictionandassociatedsocialproblems,combinedwiththerigoursof chronicillnessleadtoadownwardspiralofreducedsocialstatus,capitalinanyformandhopefor thefuture.Withinthesubstantivechaptersofthisthesisisanargumentforunderstandingwherea vulnerablecommunitymemberisintheirrecoveryjourney. Whatrecoverycapitaltheyhave availabletoaccesstoassisttheirresiliencyprocessisakeyfactorinunderstandingwhatsupportis requiredpostnaturaldisaster. Withinthenarrativeexamplesinthisthesis,isanindicationthat
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bothaddictionandrecoveryaresociallyconstructedbeingdependentuponcontextualaswellas environmentalfactors.