Beyond Resilience and Trauma: Seven Post-Crisis Identity Trajectories Through the Transcultural Positive Psychotherapy Lens
Abstract
Aim. The article presents the results of the empirical verification and theoretical expansion of the "Integrative Model of Existential Choice and Adaptation" (Iteration 1.2). The study aims to specify post-crisis identity trajectories among the civilian population during prolonged warfare, while substantiating the mediating role of resource spheres and the moderating role of existential continuums within the adaptation process. Methods. A sequential mixed-methods design was employed (N > 600). The empirical corpus comprised 102 semi-structured narrative interviews with residents of Kharkiv and the surrounding region, analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis (codebook approach). Additionally, an original five-step self-reflection tool was piloted (N > 400) using descriptive statistics to evaluate the subjective effectiveness of guided self-help interventions. Results. The findings support expanding the typology of belonging identity from three to seven distinct trajectories: transformed local, alienated local, multi-local, temporary evacuation, mono-local, liminal, and reintegrated. The "Activity" sphere (R2) was identified as an autonomous resource module facilitating the regulatory mechanism of adaptation. The functional roles of variables were formalized: existential continuums (C1–C6) act as moderators, while resource spheres (R1–R4) serve as mediators in the integration of traumatic experience. The dynamic coexistence of post-traumatic growth (PTG) and post-traumatic depreciation (PTD) was conceptualized as the predominant adaptive pattern. Conclusions. Successful adaptation is determined by the capacity for cognitive structuring of experience and the existential choice alignment with the selected identity trajectory. The developed self-reflection tool is validated as an effective psychological instrument, bridging the transcultural positive psychotherapy principles with evidence-based practice.
Downloads
References
Gordiienko-Mytrofanova, I., Bondarenko, N., Dokunina, O., Sukhan, V., & Krasilnykova, Y. (2026). Integrative model of existential choice and adaptation on the principles of Peseschkian’s transcultural positive psychotherapy (Kharkiv case). The Global Psychotherapist, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.52982/lkj294 [in Ukrainian].
Al-Ali, N., & Koser, K. (Eds.). (2002). New approaches to migration: Transnational communities and the transformation of home. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203167144
Alba, R., & Nee, V. (2003). Remaking the American mainstream: Assimilation and contemporary immigration. Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674020115
Andrushko, Y. (2024). Exploring resilience and its determinants in the forced migration of Ukrainian citizens: A psychological perspective. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(11), Article 1487. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21111409
American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct (2002, amended 2010, 2017). https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/
Appadurai, A. (1996). Modernity at large: Cultural dimensions of globalization. University of Minnesota Press.
Askland, H. H., & Bunn, M. (2018). Lived experiences of environmental change: Solastalgia, power and place. Emotion, Space and Society, 27, 16–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emospa.2018.02.003
Baker, J. M., Kelly, C., Calhoun, L. G., Cann, A., & Tedeschi, R. G. (2008). An examination of posttraumatic growth and posttraumatic depreciation: Two independent processes influenced by perspective taking and cognitive processing. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 13(5), 450–465. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325020802171367
Barbour, R. S. (2001). Checklists for improving rigour in qualitative research: A case of the tail wagging the dog? BMJ, 322(7294), 1115–1117. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.322.7294.1115
Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator–mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173–1182. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.51.6.1173
Basch, L., Glick Schiller, N., & Szanton Blanc, C. (1994). Nations unbound: Transnational projects, postcolonial predicaments, and deterritorialized nation-states. Gordon and Breach.
Baumeister, R. F. (1986). Identity: Cultural change and the struggle for self. Oxford University Press.
Berry, J. W. (1997). Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Applied Psychology, 46(1), 5–34. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.1997.tb01087.x
Berry, J. W. (2005). Acculturation: Living successfully in two cultures. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 29(6), 697–712. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2005.07.013
Bhabha, H. K. (1994). The location of culture. Routledge.
Blackmore, R., Gray, K. M., Fazel, M., Jennings, G., Staneva, A., Fitzgerald, G., & Boyle, J. A. (2020). The prevalence of mental illness in refugees and asylum seekers: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLOS Medicine, 17(9), Article e1003337. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003337
Blumer, H. (1954). What is wrong with social theory? American Sociological Review, 19(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.2307/2088165
Boals, A. (2023). Illusory growth: A review of the viability of the concept of posttraumatic growth. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 36(5), 895–905. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2023.102301
Boccagni, P., & Baldassar, L. (2015). Emotions on the move: Mapping the emergent field of emotion and migration. Emotion, Space and Society, 16, 73-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emospa.2015.06.009
Bonanno, G. A. (2004). Loss, trauma, and human resilience: Have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events? American Psychologist, 59(1), 20-28. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.59.1.20
Bowlby, J. (1982). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attachment (2nd ed.). Basic Books.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Brewin, C. R. (2014). Episodic memory, perceptual memory, and their interaction: Foundations for a theory of posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychological Bulletin, 140(1), 69-97. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033722
Cann, A., Calhoun, L. G., Tedeschi, R. G., & Solomon, D. T. (2010). Posttraumatic growth and depreciation as independent experiences and predictors of well-being. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 15(3), 151–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325020903375826
Cassarino, J. P. (2004). Theorising return migration: The conceptual approach to return migrants revisited. International Journal on Multicultural Societies, 6(2), 253–279. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1730637.
Devine-Wright, P. (2009). Rethinking NIMBYism: The role of place attachment and place identity in explaining place-protective action. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 19(6), 426–441. https://doi.org/10.1002/casp.1004
Devine-Wright, P. (Ed.). (2013). Place attachment: Advances in theory, methods and applications. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203757765
Ehlers, A., & Clark, D. M. (2000). A cognitive model of posttraumatic stress disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 38(4), 319–345. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(99)00123-0
Erikson, K. T. (1976). Everything in its path: Destruction of community in the Buffalo Creek flood. Simon and Schuster.
Fletcher, S., Mitchell, S., Curran, D., Armour, C., & Hanna, D. (2023). Empirically derived patterns of posttraumatic stress and growth: A systematic review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 24(5), 3132–3150. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380221129580
Frankl, V. E. (1963). Man's search for meaning: An introduction to logotherapy. Washington Square Press.
Shakespeare-Finch, J., & Lurie-Beck, J. (2014). A meta-analytic clarification of the relationship between posttraumatic growth and symptoms of posttraumatic distress disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 28(2), 223-229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2013.10.005
Gmelch, G. (1980). Return migration. Annual Review of Anthropology, 9, 135-159. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.an.09.100180.001031
Gordiienko-Mytrofanova, I., Bondarenko, N., & Dokunina, O. (2025). The 5-step model of self-reflection on choice and adaptation: Empirical verification of the integrative model of existential choice and adaptation within N. Peseschkian’s transcultural approach in positive psychotherapy. Scientific Studios on Social and Political Psychology, 31(2), 54-61. https://doi.org/10.52982/lkj294
Gordon, M. M. (1964). Assimilation in American life: The role of race, religion, and national origins. Oxford University Press.
Grzymała-Kazłowska A., Brzozowska A. (2017). From Drifting to Anchoring. Capturing the Experience of Ukrainian Migrants in Poland. Central and Eastern European Migration Review 6(2): 103-122. https://doi.org/10.17467/ceemr.2017.04
Hammond, L. (2004). This place will become home: Refugee repatriation to Ethiopia. Cornell University Press.
Hayes, A. F. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
Hermans, H. J. M. (2001). The dialogical self: Toward a theory of personal and cultural positioning. Culture & Psychology, 7(3), 243–281. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354067X0173001
Hobfoll, S. E., Halbesleben, J., Neveu, J.-P., & Westman, M. (2018). Conservation of resources in the organizational context: The reality of resources and their consequences. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 5, 103-128. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032117-104640
IOM. (2024). Displacement tracking matrix (DTM). Ukraine – Internal displacement report – Round 17. International Organization for Migration. https://dtm.iom.int/ukraine
Janoff-Bulman, R. (1992). Shattered assumptions: Towards a new psychology of trauma. Free Press.
Kindler, M., & Szulecka, M. (2023). Messy Arrangements? A Social Networks Perspective on Migrant Labor Brokerage: The Case of Ukrainian Migration to Poland. Polish Sociological Review, 220(4), 457-484. https://doi.org/10.26412/psr220.03
Kleim, B., & Ehlers, A. (2009). Evidence for a Curvilinear Relationship between Post-traumatic Growth and Posttrauma Depression and PTSD in Assault Survivors. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 22, 45-52. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.20378
EMN Austria. (2024). Displaced Persons from Ukraine: Summarizing Overview of Austrian Measures in the Period February 2022 to June 2023. International Organization for Migration (IOM), Vienna.
Larsen, J. T., McGraw, A. P., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2001). Can people feel happy and sad at the same time? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(4), 684–696. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.81.4.684
Levitt, H. M., Bamberg, M., Creswell, J. W., Frost, D. M., Josselson, R., & Suárez-Orozco, C. (2018). Journal article reporting standards for qualitative primary, qualitative meta-analytic, and mixed methods research in psychology. American Psychologist, 73(1), 26–46. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000151
Long, L. D., & Oxfeld, E. (Eds.). (2004). Coming home? Refugees, migrants, and those who stayed behind. University of Pennsylvania Press. https://doi.org/10.1086/jar.60.4.3631148
Lubkemann, S. C. (2008). Culture in chaos: An anthropology of the social condition in war. University of Chicago Press.
Malkki, L. (1992). National Geographic: The rooting of peoples and the territorialization of national identity among scholars and refugees. Cultural Anthropology, 7(1), 24–44. https://doi.org/10.1525/can.1992.7.1.02a00030
Masten, A. S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56(3), 227–238. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.227
Ni Laoire, C. (2007). The 'green green grass of home'? Return migration to rural Ireland. Journal of Rural Studies, 23(3), 332–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2007.01.005
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative research & evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Sage Publications
Peseschkian, N., & Peseschkian, H. (2016). Positive Psychotherapy: Theory and practice of a new method. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32219-4
Pieta, M., & Rzeszutek, M. (2022). Posttraumatic growth and posttraumatic depreciation: Independent correlates of well-being among people living with HIV. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 30(3), 412–421. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-022-10093-7
Pieta, M., & Rzeszutek, M. (2022). Trajectories of posttraumatic growth and posttraumatic depreciation: A one-year prospective study among people living with HIV. PLOS ONE, 17(9), e0275000. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0275000
Zimmermann, T., Mehnert-Theuerkauf, A., & Koranyi, N. (2021). Arrival beyond displacement: A qualitative study on the reconstruction of belonging in refugees with cancer. Psycho-Oncology, 30(11), 1930-1937. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.5730
Rapport, N., & Dawson, A. (Eds.). (1998). Migrants of identity: Perceptions of home in a world of movement. Berg.
Reeger, U., & Haase, A. (2024). Experiencing forced migration: Challenges of arriving after displacement from Ukraine. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 50(13), 3396–3414. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2024.2323666
Scannell, L., & Gifford, R. (2010). Defining place attachment: A tripartite organizing framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2009.09.006
Seeman, M. (1959). On the meaning of alienation. American Sociological Review, 24(6), 783–791. https://doi.org/10.2307/2088565
Shakespeare-Finch, J., & Lurie-Beck, J. (2014). A meta-analytic clarification of the relationship between posttraumatic growth and symptoms of posttraumatic distress disorder. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 28(2), 223–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2013.10.005
Sijbrandij, M., Acarturk, C., Lakin, M., Rashied, D., & Roberts, B. (2022). Mental health and psychosocial support for refugees and other forcebly displaced persons: A scope review of the evidence. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 35(1), 12–25. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22754
Stefansson, A. H. (2004). Refugee returns to Sarajevo and their challenge to contemporary narratives of mobility. In L. D. Long & E. Oxfeld (Eds.), Coming home? Refugees, migrants, and those who stayed behind (pp. 170–186). University of Pennsylvania Press.
Taku, K., Tedeschi, R. G., Shakespeare-Finch, J., Krosch, D., & Calhoun, L. G. (2021). Posttraumatic growth (PTG) and posttraumatic depreciation (PTD) across ten countries: Global validation of the PTG-PTD theoretical model. Personality and Individual Differences, 169, Article 110222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110222
Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (1996). The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9(3), 455–471. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.2490090305
Tong, A., Sainsbury, P., & Craig, J. (2007). Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ): A 32-item checklist for interviews and focus groups. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 19(6), 349–357. https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzm042
Turner, V. (1969). The ritual process: Structure and anti-structure. Aldine.
Vertovec, S. (2009). Transnationalism. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203927083
Vigh, H. (2009). Motion squared: A second look at the concept of social navigation. Anthropological Theory, 9(4), 419–438. https://doi.org/10.1177/1463499609356044
Zoellner, T., & Maercker, A. (2006). Posttraumatic growth in clinical psychology – A critical review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 26(5), 628–653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2006.01.008
