Invited Symposium Summary
Resilience expressed in contexts of vulnerability in the Global South Presenters: Silvia H. Koller, Clarissa Pinto Pizarro de Freitas, Maria Angela Mattar Yunes, Itumeleng Khumalo
This symposium will emphasize the innovative knowledge in positive psychology produced in the Global South, related to the research about resilience and vulnerability. It gathers a clear agenda that takes cultural perspectives and diverse contexts into account to understand variables such as well being, coping, and resilience among vulnerable populations.
Invited Symposium Abstracts
Impact of presence of meaning in life on relationship of personal characteristics and well-being in Brazilian context
Presenter: Clarissa Pinto Pizarro de Freitas ( Universidade Salgado de Oliveira, Brazil)
Abstract: The present study aimed to investigate the mediation role of presence of meaning in life on the relationship of optimism, pessimism and self-esteem with life satisfaction, stress, positive and negative affect in the Brazilian context. The sample was composed by 1945 Brazilians (64% women), aged from 18 to 88 years (
M = 38.7,
SD = 16.2). The results of structural equation modeling indicated that the relations of optimism and self-esteem with life satisfaction, stress, positive and negative affect were partially mediated by levels of presence of meaning in life. However presence of meaning in life did not mediated the associations of pessimism with levels of life satisfaction, stress, positive and negative affect. This study contributes to well-being literature advancing on the comprehension of relations of personal characteristics and well-being.
Self-perception of workers in Brazilian shelter institutions for children and adolescents: identities, role and professional resilience Presenter: Maria Angela Mattar Yunes (Centro Universitário La Salle, Spain)
Co-Authors: Ângela Adriane Schmidt Bersch
Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate workers´ perception of three governmental institutions about their identities and roles in institutions in the south Brazil.
Methods: Thirty participants completed a semi-structured questionnaire with a terminology that would best define its role in the institution. The options were: monitor; agent; caregiver; educator, other and should be justified. Results indicated that only 30% perceived themselves as educators. However, the majority characterized their job functions with a variety of tasks from instrumental basic health care, control of school activities until more complex forms of discipline activities. Most participants referred to these practices as challenging and only 20% showed awareness of the effects of their practices/quality of relationships in the psychological development of children and adolescents.
Findings: Therefore, strategies to enhance workers` professional resilience should be developed with focus on strengthening their role as Educators. Further research is required to design and implement interventions with this workforce that plays an active role for the wellbeing of the assisted population.
Impact of presence of meaning in life on relationship of personal characteristics and well-being in Brazilian contextPresenter: Silvia H. Koller (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil)
Co-Authors: Emily Jean Haddad
Abstract: The present study aimed to investigate the mediation role of presence of meaning in life on the relationship of optimism, pessimism and self-esteem with life satisfaction, stress, positive and negative affect in the Brazilian context. The sample was composed by 1945 Brazilians (64% women), aged from 18 to 88 years (M = 38.7, SD = 16.2). The results of structural equation modeling indicated that the relations of optimism and self-esteem with life satisfaction, stress, positive and negative affect were partially mediated by levels of presence of meaning in life. However presence of meaning in life did not mediated the associations of pessimism with levels of life satisfaction, stress, positive and negative affect. This study contributes to well-being literature advancing on the comprehension of relations of personal characteristics and well-being.
The colour of resilience pathways: Investigating “Africultural” coping styles among African teachersPresenter: Itumeleng P. Khumalo (North-West University, South Africa)
Introduction: Stress emanates from person-environment interaction. Life circumstances, sociodemographic variables and socio-historical and cultural heritage place some groups in more vulnerable positions. This study, among South African teachers, shows gender and race embedded differences in stress experiences and resilience processes.
Methods: The optimal capturing of the experiences stress and operationalisation of coping based on socio-cultural contextual factors, using the Africultural Coping Styles Index (ACSI) are studied. White and Black male and female South African teachers (n=400) completed a two wave longitudinal survey and responded to questions about sources of stress and psychological distress, as well as social support, problem-solving, avoidance, cognitive-emotional debriefing, ritual-, spiritual-, and collective-centred response mechanisms. Using multivariate statistics and structural equation modeling, group differences (race and gender) are reported for mean scores, factor structure, and inter-variable relationships and dynamics.
Findings: Implications for stress management and well-being promotion (such as measurement and group differences in resilience mechanisms) that take into account differences in person-environment interaction embedded in race and gendered realities are discussed.
Impact of presence of meaning in life on relationship of personal characteristics and well-being in Brazilian context