Poster by Sonja Schottner¹, Heiko Mikolajczak²
¹ Sozial- und Umweltpsychologie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany ² TU Dortmund, Germany
TIME: Thursday, 16 July, 12:00 – 13:15
Location: Break Room
Session: Poster Session
Abstract
According to Brown (2012) and Baiasu (2020), vulnerability is commonly seen as a weakness. Society seems to be prone to the risky and harmful side of vulnerability. But Brown (2012) and Baiasu (2020) see moreover the underexplored advantages that could lie in vulnerability, such as the possibility of forging and forming deep, meaningful relationships, profound experiences, and joy (Brown, 2012). Additionally, Corine Pelluchon (2019) raises the idea that not only humans, but their biosphere is inherently vulnerable. This shared vulnerability fosters a sense of belonging to the world, in contrast to notions of dominion or hegemony over others and the common world. Analogous to Ray & Najman (1975), who regard acceptance of mortality as adaptive given the inevitability of death, we contend that the most adaptive response to vulnerability is to accept it, thereby increasing the likelihood of realizing its benefits rather than risking harm and only treating it as a weakness. Furthermore, we hypothesize that accepting vulnerability (based on Brown and Pelluchon) leads to a healthier life, as it involves accepting negative feelings, and this may be a cornerstone for functional coping towards other human and non-human beings. Thus, our hypothesis is whether we could create items that measure the conceptual core of acceptance of vulnerability. In this pilot study, n = 304 participants (72.43% female, 24.25% male, 2.66% non-binary, age mean = 28.69, sd = 10.06) were recruited to answer a total of 86 items. Exploratory Factor analysis and item analysis revealed a four-factor structure (common world, social vulnerability, exploration of feelings, acceptance of mortality) with acceptable model fit (TLI: 0.882, RMSEA: 0.057, BIC: -3686, mean complexity: 1.1) for a pilot study. We found hints for the construct named acceptance of vulnerability that may be a new coping strategy as well as a counterpart for dominion or hegemony. Further confirmation and validation are needed. Baiasu, R. (2020). The openness of vulnerability and resilience. Angelaki, 25(1-2), 254-264. Brown, B. (2012). “Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead.” Pelluchon, C. (2019). Ethik der Wertschätzung: Tugenden für eine ungewisse Welt. wbg Academic. Ray, J. J., & Najman, J. (1975). Death anxiety and death acceptance: A preliminary approach. Omega-Journal of Death and dying, 5(4), 311-315.