RESILIENCE IN YOUNG ADULT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIMS: EXAMINING POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY PROTECTIVE FACTORS AND INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE OUTCOMES IN MALE AND FEMALE YOUNG ADULTS

Men and women can both experience not only negative, but also positive, outcomes as a result of trauma (Vieselmeyer et al., 2017). The current study assessed whether protective factors identified within the positive psychology movement were associated with negative and positive outcomes related to one form of trauma – experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV). This is the first known study to examine linkages between positive psychology protective factors (e.g., posttraumatic gratitude, proactive coping methods, proactive attitude) and aspects of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), posttraumatic growth (PTG), and psychological wellbeing (PWB), in young adults who experienced IPV. Higher levels of positive psychology protective factors (i.e., posttraumatic gratitude, proactive coping methods, proactive attitude) were negatively associated with PTSD symptomology levels and positively associated with PTG and PWB. Exploratory analyses assessed the extent to which positive psychology protective factors predicted outcomes of IPV and the extent to which resource loss/gain factors added unique variance accounted for in the association between the positive psychology protective factors and the outcomes of IPV. As such, mental health professionals could integrate therapeutic techniques that increase the acquisition of positive psychology factors in therapy clients with IPV trauma histories as a means of improving client treatment outcomes.