Working under constraints: Risk and protective factors shaping Vietnamese investigative journalists’ resilience

Abstract

This study examines the resilience of investigative journalists in Vietnam’s socialist media system. Motivated by the scarcity of empirical work on journalists’ well-being in highly regulated media environments despite high exposure to trauma and coercion, we conducted qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 12 investigative journalists from national and local outlets. The interviews were transcribed in Vietnamese and analyzed inductively using thematic analysis. Participants identified three principal risk domains: legal–political pressures, intimidation and retaliation, and psychological impact. Protective factors and coping strategies operate at multiple levels: individual, interpersonal, and organizational or familial. Formal mental health or institutional support was largely absent, increasing reliance on informal networks; personal ethics and integrity functioned as anchors of moral resilience. The findings indicate resilience as a dynamic, social-ecological process that compensates for weak institutional protections through collective support and value-driven coping, extending resilience scholarship to an a state-regulated media setting and suggesting practical priorities for newsrooms and advocates, such as legal safeguards, safety protocols, peer-support mechanisms, and trauma-literacy training.