Posttraumatic Growth and Resilience Among Youth with Serious Mental Illness

Introduction: A growing area of research in the study of serious mental illness, examines the role of posttraumatic growth. One feature of posttraumatic growth not yet explored in-depth is how it relates to the development of resilience. Research which focuses specifically on youth is of great importance in understanding mental health trajectories. The aim of this review is to assess current knowledge about posttraumatic growth and resilience in youth populations following serious mental illness, including psychosis. Studies which exclusively address serious mental illness in youth are lacking. Research Design and Methods: A scoping review was conducted according to the Arksey and O'Malley guidelines (2004) in the following steps: identifying the research question, identifying relevant studies, establishing eligibility criteria, finding information sources and drawing up query tables, completing an identification process, and selecting appropriate studies. Results: Studies of posttraumatic growth in youth included mixed methods, quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Narratives relating to posttraumatic growth and resilience included variation in how the terms are defined, and resilience as both a prerequisite for and a result of posttraumatic growth. The literature currently available demonstrates heterogeneity in defining posttraumatic growth and resilience, as well as highlighting a potentially bidirectional relationship between the two phenomena. Conclusions: Our review identified a paucity of research on resilience and posttraumatic growth among youth with serious mental health challenges, particularly challenges other than psychosis. While additional research on this topic is needed, stakeholders can draw upon our findings to plan future empirical and intervention studies.