Resiliency from violent victimization for people with mental disorders: An examination of multiple resiliency models

Abstract

Research examining prevalence rates and risk factors related to victimization for people with mental disorders has procured considerable attention. Despite this increased attention, why a subset of this population is not victimized, despite elevated risk, is less understood. That is, there is a group of people with mental disorders who are effectively resilient from victimization, but the ways in which resiliency is produced is not known. Using the National Comorbidity Study–Adolescent supplement data, the applicability of numerous resiliency models is examined to identify and understand how the resiliency from victimization process operates for people with mental disorders. Building off previous work, factors specific to mental illness are also included in additional models to examine whether the same factors relate to resiliency for people with mental illness as they do for other samples. Results indicate support for the compensatory and protective-protective resilience models when mental health-specific factors are excluded from the analyses. Results change, however, when mental health-specific variables are included in the analyses, suggesting the need for continued research on resiliency for this population.