Perspective, control, and confidence: perceived outcomes of using psycho-behavioural skills in the developmental trauma experience

Abstract

While psycho-behavioural skills play a crucial role in negotiating and growing from developmental trauma, the precise outcomes which these skills enable has been underexplored. Accordingly, six senior international performers were interviewed to explore what such skills led to when negotiating and growing from traumatic experiences. It was subsequently found that psycho-behavioural skills supported a sense of perspective, control, and confidence in participants, all of which contributed to a predominantly constructive rather than illusory growth process. These findings add to our understanding of skills-based development by highlighting what psycho-behavioural skills can precisely help to facilitate in young performers, as part of their efforts to cope with and subsequently grow from traumatic experiences. Significantly, and, contrary to other research, the findings of this study also question the length of time which may be needed for constructive growth to be achieved.