Results

All participants reported perceived career success, holding positions in academia or post doctoral programs despite the barriers they faced from institutions of higher education which had denied their attendance. While data on the particular types of trauma that each participant experience was not collected, participants indicated significantly different reactions to stress. Two participants indicated they handled stress well with planning and decision making, one reported they struggled with stress, and one reported that stressful situations caused anger and aggravation which led to lashing out and becoming overly critical of those around them. Aggressive response is linked to early traumatic experiences (Smeijers, et al, 2020).

All four participants believed themselves to be more resilient than their peers and believe their trauma and incarceration had forged resiliency to protect from additional trauma as a defense mechanism. Each participant reported having 4-5 strong connections with family, friends, or community which is considered thinly webbed. The lack of more robust support networks was identified as a result of their incarceration. Participants felt that additional vetting was needed of individuals before being accepted as a trustworthy support network member.