The Experiences of Resilience and Hope of Adolescent Girls who have been Victims of Sex Trafficking in the United States

Human trafficking has been explored in many countries, but few studies about girls’ experiences in trafficking within the United States exist. This study focuses on the experiences of resilience and hope of adolescent girls who have been trafficked and the stories of their lives. Participants are adolescent girls between the ages of 15 and 18 who are in or have contact with a local juvenile detention center. Interviews were conducted and a qualitative study was utilized to determine common themes of how trafficked girls understand and experience resiliency and hope in their lives. Participants also completed the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Children’s Hope Scale or Adult Hope Scale, and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25. Significant results were found between the sample used in this study and normative samples in resilience and hope. The adolescent girls in this study demonstrated decreased resilience scores, t(594) = 2.15, p = . 032. The younger group of adolescent girls also demonstrated decreased hope scores, t(331) = 2.00, p = . 047. However, the adolescent girls in the older group exhibited increased hope scores, t(275) = 3.18, p = . 002. Descriptive data was collected for the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 RESILIENCE AND HOPE iv Anxiety Scale (M = 18.79, SD = 5.42) and Depression Scale (M = 31.37, SD = 7.65). Ten themes were derived from the interviews, including positive attachment, sense of capability, positive self-concept, ability to see other parts of her identity, sense of purpose, religious beliefs, planning for the future, actively seeking change, others-focused thinking, and hope for change. The implications of this study may direct clinical focus when working with these adolescent girls and provide clinicians with an understanding of the importance of encouraging resilience and hope during the recovery process. RESILIENCE AND HOPE v Acknowledgements I am grateful for the support and guidance from my committee who encouraged me throughout this process. A special thanks to Dr. Winston Seegobin whose dedication to helping me create and develop this study helped me persevere through each new challenge. You have been a great mentor and I am so grateful to have learned from your wisdom. I am also grateful for the thoughtful refining of this study from Dr. Kathleen Gathercoal and Dr. Mark McMinn. Your knowledge and guidance helped make this study possible. A special thanks to Samuel Smith for your time and commitment to assisting with this study. Thank you to my family whose emotional support sustained me during times when progress was delayed. To my husband, Matthew, I am grateful not only for your countless hours of listening to my ideas and research, but for your steadfast love and sacrifice and ability to make me laugh after a long day’s work. Your support means the world to me. Additionally, I am sincerely grateful for each of the caseworkers, psychologists, and other detention staff at the juvenile detention facility who graciously coached me and provided invaluable insight to working with these adolescent girls. I am privileged to have had the opportunity to work alongside these professionals. I am also greatly honored to have met each of the girls who participated in this study. Their ability to share their own stories is a testament to human resilience. The work behind this study is dedicated to these girls’ daily struggle to find healing amidst the chaos. I am blessed by each of their stories. RESILIENCE AND HOPE vi Table of