Abstract
This study investigated the interactional resilience processes (at the person-in-environment interface) of individuals with traumatic spinal cord injuries who successfully returned to work. In recent years, resilience theory has become an increasingly useful framework in social work, with much of the ground-breaking research focusing on the interactional resilience processes that take place between people and people and between people and their social systems. The increasing focus on personal, relational and environmental resilience-enabling resources has broadened access to resilience resources for individuals to obtain the better-than-expected outcomes in the face or wake of adversity. However, despite this ground-breaking research, very little is known about the interactional resilience processes of individuals with traumatic spinal cord injuries. Research on the interactional resilience processes of the late onset of physical disability and attitudes towards individuals with traumatic spinal cord injuries is essential to have a better understanding of these resilience processes. This study investigated the lived experiences of individuals with traumatic spinal cord injuries who have successfully returned to work. The study adopted a qualitative approach with an interpretivist constructionist epistemology and the study design was informed by methods of grounded theory. The data collection process made use of one-on-one semi-structured interviews with each one of the five participants. The first interview focused on the first objective and the second interview focused on the second and third objectives. The data analysis process adopted the thematic and grounded theory methods of analysis. The findings revealed varying and similar narratives from the study participants on their lived experiences of traumatic spinal cord injuries and successful return to work. The participants’ narratives revealed that relational resilience-enabling resources emerged as a strong theme across all five participants, personal and structural resilience-enabling resources had the second most predominant themes, and the spiritual resilience-enabling resources had the least themes. These narratives all highlighted the importance of resilience-enabling resources following a traumatic spinal cord injury...
M.A. (Clinical Social Work)