(PS9-54) Voices of Resilience: Community and Cultural Perspectives in Mental Health Support for Trauma Survivors in Post-military Coup Myanmar

Amidst the escalating global political violence, the urgency to support survivor communities through a trauma-informed approach is paramount. This study delves into the trauma reactions, resilience sources, and dissemination strategies among trauma survivors in post-military coup Myanmar. Utilizing a community-based participatory model, trauma survivors actively contributed to research design and data collection, while findings were iteratively provided to stakeholders and frontline organization leaders. Employing a mixed-method design, we combined gold-standard psychological questionnaires with culturally-informed open-ended questions, allowing for both quantitative analysis and qualitative insights to inform stakeholders serving political violence survivors. Myanmar survivors (N=180) reported elevated mental health symptoms alongside remarkable resilience. The moderation effect of resilience on trauma and alcohol use was significant (B = –0.16, SE = 0.07, t(169) = –2.48, p = .013). We also observed a significant dose-response relationship of trauma and psychopathology: greater trauma correlated with stronger PTSD (r[180] = .37, p < .001) and increased alcohol use (r[180] = .22, p < .001). Higher PTSD also predicted more pronounced comorbidity with depression, anxiety, and alcohol use (r[180] = .45, .36, .24, p < .001). We identified unique cultural expressions of distress regarding trauma reactions among Myanmar participants (e.g., “burning rage”) and contextually meaningful sources of resilience (e.g., “political commitment”). Both clinical and cultural considerations will be highlighted in presenting the study’s findings. We will discuss how these findings inform clinicians to tailor existing behavioral interventions to meet the unique needs of global communities, exemplified by Myanmar survivors, providing insights on integrating data into the dissemination of mental health support and improving policies in at-risk communities.