The Development of a Three Part Model of Psychological Resilience

Psychological resilience has been defined as the ability of an individual to recover from a traumatic event or to remain psychologically robust when faced with an adverse event. This study investigated a sample of 176 police officers who were surveyed at commencement of their training in 1998/1999 (Time 1), 12 months later (Time 2), and at the end of 2009 (Time 3). A multidimensional model of psychological resilience (including environment, thoughts, feelings, behaviours, and physical activities) was evaluated in terms of the pathogenic outcomes of posttraumatic stress, psychological distress, and physical health at the three time points. A three part model of psychological resilience (environment, physical behaviours, and cognitions) was used to demonstrate that social support, adaptive health practices, adaptive coping, and optimism were effective when police officers were faced with adversity. The model provides initial understandings of the multidimensional nature of psychological resilience which requires further evaluation.