Culture and positionality in trauma research: A bi-cultural perspective

Goal The proposed presentation is designed to discuss and illustrate how the research of the nature and aftermath of exposure to traumatic event of individuals, families and communities is shaped by position and cultural... [ view full abstract ]

Goal
The proposed presentation is designed to discuss and illustrate how the research of the nature and aftermath of exposure to traumatic event of individuals, families and communities is shaped by position and cultural contexts.
Content
Studying traumatic exposures and their aftermath is shaped by multiple positions, contexts and lens of those involved. Central among these multiple lens are the role of the researcher and the researched, focusing on negative and positive aspects and the cultural context within which the study is conducted. In the proposed presentation two social work researchers who live and conduct research in the fields of individual, familial and collective trauma in diverse cultural contexts (Israel and the US) will discuss their perspectives on how location and position may affect social work research. The manifestations of theoretical and methodological issues will be illustrated in trauma research in both countries.

Structure and topics to be addressed
Conceptual framework: A conceptualization of cultural positionality based on a critical review of the literature will be discussed. Presenters will discuss how race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, and additional cultural affiliations serve as lenses, through which people perceive, conceptualize, interpret, make meaning of and respond to stressor events as well as seek and use help.
Illustrations: Each presenter will discuss their research of personal and collective traumatic experiences related to immigration and relocation (Israel and US), armed conflict and security threats (Israel), poverty (Israel) and infertility (US) in their respective cultures.
Conclusions: Presenters will use the presented studies to analyze how they reflect and illustrate the identified conceptual aspects, related ethical and methodological issues and offer strategies designed to attend to potential cultural aspects in planning research projects, conducting data collection and analysis and interpreting findings.