Vulnerability and Resilience in Sensitive Research: The Case of the Quantitative Researcher

The emotional experiences of quantitative researchers, particularly while conducting sensitive research, are largely neglected. This article aims to advance the awareness of possible emotional strains for quantitative researchers engaged in sensitive research. It qualitatively assesses the ethical and emotional experiences of quantitative researchers conducting a study on aging of bereaved parents and people with a physical disability. Based on the detailed minutes of 66 weekly research meetings held during 2015–2017, a thematic analysis of the researchers’ experiences was performed. Our analysis identified two main themes: vulnerability and resilience. We delineate these themes, along with their subthemes and affinity to vicarious traumatization, moral stress, and vicarious posttraumatic growth. The current study is among the first to introduce the emotional and ethical experiences of the quantitative researcher. Tentative recommendations for the advancement of the researcher’s safety and well-being by training, institutional support, self-care skills, and policy development are provided.

“That day no one spoke”: Florida Puerto Ricans’ Reaction to Hurricane María

We conducted two focus groups and four individual interviews to examine the experiences of Florida Puerto Rican adults ( N = 26) with secondary exposure to the devastation caused by Hurricane María. Results from our thematic analysis yielded four major themes and eight subthemes depicting responses to Hurricane María. Four major themes emerged across participant responses: 1) Participants’ Experience with Hurricane María, 2) Participants’ Negative Reactions to Hurricane María, 3) Participants Providing Support, and 4) Resilience and Growth. We also found that Florida Puerto Ricans’ secondary stress reactions were influenced by Puerto Rico’s political status and economic crisis. Results also indicated that participants experienced vicarious posttraumatic growth not only at the individual but also at the community level.

A Therapist’s Vicarious Posttraumatic Growth and Transformation of Self

The South Korean Sewol ferry sank off the Jindo Island in April 2014, with the loss of 304 lives. Of those who died, 250 were students from Danwon High School. Our study examined the tragedy and detailed experiences of the therapist who helped the bereaved families. It employed an idiographic approach that allowed the therapist to speak the language of her consciousness, personal growth, and meaning making. We conducted a critical narrative analysis to integrate individual dialogues and institutional discourses. The results revealed the therapist’s motives for commencing therapy post the Sewol tragedy, her projective identification with adolescent siblings of victims, ambivalence toward their parents, and an awakening that trauma and loss can be framed within a larger sociocultural context. The process transformed the self-of-the-therapist and helped her redefine the role of trauma therapists. The therapist’s critical reflection on macro–micro interconnection and vicarious posttraumatic growth were also discussed. The results suggest therapeutic implications for trauma professionals at both the individual and system levels.