Identifying Attachment-Based Resilience in Families Experiencing Domestic Displacement
Keywords:
Attachment-based resilience, domestic displacement, family adaptation, intergenerational copingAbstract
Objective: This study aimed to identify the attachment-based resilience processes that enable displaced families in Taiwan to preserve emotional security, cohesion, and intergenerational stability amid conditions of forced relocation.
Methods and Materials: This qualitative research employed an interpretive phenomenological design to explore how displaced families reconstruct attachment and resilience following domestic displacement. A total of 24 participants (13 women and 11 men) aged 27–58 years were recruited through community organizations and social service centers in Taiwan. Data were collected through semi-structured, in-depth interviews focusing on emotional bonds, family trust, and adaptive coping. Interviews continued until theoretical saturation was reached. All data were transcribed and analyzed thematically using NVivo 14 software following Braun and Clarke’s six-phase method. Credibility was enhanced through member checking, peer debriefing, and reflexive journaling.
Findings: The analysis yielded three overarching themes: (1) Reconstructing secure attachments after displacement, emphasizing the rebuilding of trust, emotional closeness, and symbolic security; (2) Collective coping and family adaptation, highlighting cooperative problem-solving, flexible role negotiation, and reliance on community support; and (3) Intergenerational transmission of resilience, involving modeling adaptive behaviors, maintaining cultural continuity, and reinforcing family identity through shared narratives. Families demonstrated that emotional reciprocity, meaning-making, and intergenerational caregiving were critical in transforming displacement from a source of trauma into an opportunity for relational growth. These results underscore that resilience emerges through relational, rather than individual, mechanisms of attachment repair.
Conclusion: Attachment-based resilience among displaced families in Taiwan reflects a dynamic interplay between emotional reconstruction, collective coping, and cultural continuity. Strengthening attachment relationships, promoting family-centered interventions, and supporting intergenerational communication can enhance psychological stability and social reintegration in displaced populations.
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References
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