Resilience Beyond Scores: Psychological Adaptation Following Childhood Maltreatment Among Filipino Emerging Adults and a Trauma-Informed Support Framework

Although child abuse may have lasting psychological results, resilience scores do not include the individual’s coping strategies, interpersonal dynamics, and needs. In the present study we looked at the association between reported resilience and lived adaptation in five Filipino young adults aged 18-25 which had experienced childhood abuse also we looked at what these results mean for trauma informed care. The qualitative multiple-case design was used, criterion-based purposive sampling, the Nicholson McBride Resilience Questionnaire (NMRQ), and one semi-structured interview per participant. Scores on the NMRQ were reported at a case level, while interview data were subjected to reflexive thematic analysis at within- and cross-case levels. Scores on the NMRQ ranged from 20 (Developing) to 52 (Exceptional). Three themes were revealed: (1) threats, rejections, and reduced safety in childhood interpersonal domains; (2) withdrawal, expressive release, and regulatory approaches for managing distress; and (3) achieving independent, tenacious, and transcendent outcomes. Having a higher category of resilience did not always indicate an absence of distress or maladaptive regulation, nor did a lower category of resilience imply the lack of adaptive strategies. The findings informed the development of RECLAIM, a proposed seven-domain, individualized trauma-informed service model of care. Although the case-level approach deepened the understanding of each individual’s lived experience and supported the identification of their needs, the small sample size and the theoretical nature of the study do not allow generalization or any conclusions about treatment effectiveness.