Coping Strategies and Psychological Resilience Among University Students with Trauma Histories: A Narrative Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65141/jessah.v3i1.n1Keywords:
coping strategies, resilience, university students, post-traumatic growth, trauma-informed pedagogyAbstract
University students with trauma histories represent a vulnerable population as they navigate complex developmental transitions alongside significant stressors. While existing research often focuses on general adult population, this narrative review examines how current theoretical models of resilience and coping inform our understanding of the specific pathways through which university students navigate trauma-related adversities. Using a qualitative, interpretative synthesis of peer-reviewed literature from 2015 to 2025, the study identifies four themes (1) resilience as a mediating buffer, (2), adaptive and maladaptive coping mechanisms, (3) cognitive reconstruction and the sequential mechanism of growth, and the (4) socio-ecological influences and demographic vulnerabilities. The findings reveal that successful trauma navigation is not a linear return to baseline functioning but is a process of meaning-making. Central to this process is a “growth chain” wherein adaptive appraisal and positive coping facilitate resilience, which in turn drives the deliberate rumination necessary for post-traumatic growth. Conversely, the review also identified “impairment chains” where distal trauma acts as a latent vulnerability, sensitizing students to current academic and social crises. These insights inform university mental health policy towards strength-based, trauma-informed frameworks.
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