GRIT Program Continues to Expand

The Institute’s GRIT program has continued to grow since its creation in 2020 and has recently expanded into 2 additional countries and 1 additional U.S. state. The program launched shortly after the start of the pandemic as a way to help individuals, families, and communities to cultivate resilience in order to better cope with adversity. After recent registrations, the addition of Montana brings the U.S. total to 49 states. And the addition of Singapore and New Zealand brings the international total to 21 countries! It’s exciting to see how much GRIT has grown and to see more resilient communities sprouting up around the globe. For more information on the GRIT program, you can visit the official GRIT website here.      

Keynote at the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce and EDC

Executive Director of the Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience, Dr. Chip Benight, was the keynote speaker at the Board of Governors meeting for the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce & EDC. In the keynote, Benight discussed a variety of topics including the Institute’s GRIT program and the challenges faced by businesses in the post-pandemic mental health crisis. The audience was composed of business leaders from around the Pikes Peak region.

The YPO Forum with Lyda Hill, Plus Other Community Trainings

Director of Community Training and Empowerment, Nicole Weis, presented to Institute benefactor, Lyda Hill, and her colleagues at the YPO Forum. In the forum, Weis discussed “the Great Empowerment” and supporting the workforce in a continuum of care by focusing on cultivating population resilience. In separate events, Weis presented on secondary trauma and resilience support for self and teams at the Clerk of County Retreat, CUPA (College and University Professional Association) Conference, and the American College Health Association. Weis also conducted a workshop for the Pikes Peak United Way focused on secondary traumatic stress, de-escalation and communication skills, and enhancing personal resilience.

In the near future, Weis will deliver a variety of trainings including a Trauma and Resilience Education workshop for UCCS Campus Police and Safety, a Secondary Stress and Resilience Education workshop for the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce and EDC, and GRIT training for the Colorado Springs Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Recent Institute Research Publications

A few of the recent research publications from Lyda Hill Institute for Human Resilience researchers can be found below.

Resilience enhancing programs in the U.S. military: An exploration of theory and applied practice
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08995605.2022.2086418

McInerney, S., Waldrep, E., & Benight, C. C. (in press).  Resilience enhancing programs in the U.S. military: An exploration of theory and applied practice.  Military Psychology.

Trauma coping self-efficacy mediates associations between adult attachment and posttraumatic stress symptoms
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35330717/

Morrison, M. & Benight, C. C. (2022). Trauma coping self-efficacy mediates associations between adult attachment and posttraumatic stress symptoms.  Frontiers in Psychology: Psychopathology. 

Gynecological Health Complaints Among College Women with Sexual Victimization Histories: Examination of Depression and Anxiety as Potential Mediators
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2022.06.001

Littleton, H., Wright, L., Dodd, J. C., & Higgins, M. (2022). Gynecological Health Complaints Among College Women with Sexual Victimization Histories: Examination of Depression and Anxiety as Potential Mediators. Women's Health Issues.

Not how often but when: Self-efficacy to control cannabis use and posttraumatic stress symptoms

Hurd, J. H., Powers, T. G., & Benight, C. C., (in press). Not how often but when: Self-efficacy to control cannabis use and posttraumatic stress symptoms.  Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.     

Exposure to Potentially Morally injurious events and mental health outcomes among frontline workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic

Ehman, A. C., Smith, A. J., Wright, H., Benight, C. C., Maguen, S., Pyne, J. M., Cooney, N., & Griffen, B. J. (in press). Exposure to Potentially Morally injurious events and mental health outcomes among frontline workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy.