Innate Resilience: A Qualitative Study of the Drive to Thrive in the Face of Adversity of a Selection of Students at Texas A&M University
Abstract
College students, both traditional and nontraditional, face pressures, stress factors, harsh life experiences, and adversity. They are expected to push through all of the challenges and succeed. Universities currently measure student success by grades and graduation rates. A need for change is evident in an examination of the unmet needs of current students and expressed concerns regarding the traditional college admission process.
The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify themes that activate a thriving response to adversity in college students. A purposive sample of five college students from Texas A&M University who had faced an adversity but now identify as thriving were interviewed. Data were collected in individual interviews. Three conceptual models were developed. The first model outlines student transition from dysfunctional reintegration to resilient reintegration from adversity. The second model outlines the direct transition in factors from dysfunctional to resilient. The third model outlines the reintegration process into a state of thriving by college students. The data suggest that student attitude, sense of belonging, sense of purpose, and support system are integral to reintegrating resiliently.
Citation
Edmunds, Kathryn Alexis (2019). Innate Resilience: A Qualitative Study of the Drive to Thrive in the Face of Adversity of a Selection of Students at Texas A&M University. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /188727.