A profile of survival

This article examines the extent to which a general understanding of an individual's reaction to extreme stress situations and patterns of coping can help in the understanding of personal and situational factors which are crucial for successful coping and survival of abused children. During a 14-year follow-up study, abused children who managed to survive the trauma of their childhood and grow up to be well-adjusted individuals were compared with a matched group of children who show, after 14 years, a high degree of psychosocial pathology. The variables which distinguished the two groups were fatalism, self-esteem, cognitive abilities, self-destructiveness, hope and fantasy, behavior patterns and external support. There were no significant differences between the groups as to difficulties in emotional expression in object relations and in their high degree of aggression. Lazarus' model of stress and coping was used to show the dynamics by which children utilize their personal and situational characteristics to survive and avoid future psychological and developmental damage. Implications of the findings for treatment and therapeutic assignments are indicated.