Coping with the trauma of divorce

✍ Scribed by Solly Dreman

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1991
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 547 KB
• Volume: 4
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0894-9867
• DOI: 10.1002/jts.2490040109

✦ Synopsis

This paper presents research and clinical findings regarding how people cope with traumatic events. In the short run people mry cope with trauma by trying to rmintain the status quo via utilization of familiar behavioral repertoires and defensive behaviors like denial. While this strategy m y cow01 initial stress and anxiety, it could eventually lead to long-term rmladjustmnt since it does not take account of altered post-traumatic realities requiring attitudinal and behavioral change. A review of clinical observations and research findings on divorce suggests that it is also a t r a m t i c eved, with divorcing parents resembling other post-traurmtic victim in their initial utilization of defensive behaviors. It was suggested that cognitive-emotional integration of post-traumatic realities becomes possible when the initially high levels of stress and anxiety associated with the traumatic events subsides. Clinical and research inplication of these coping processes and their relationship to adjustment are &clcssed