Coping Strategies as a Mediator of Posttraumatic Growth among Adult Survivors of the Wenchuan Earthquake

Lili He,Zhibin Wu,Jiuping Xu,Jon D Elhai

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0084164

Abstract

ObjectiveBy testing the mediating effect of coping strategies on the relationship between social support (SS) and posttraumatic growth (PTG), the aim of this research was to develop a new approach for the study of post-disaster psychological intervention.MethodsA mediating effect model analysis was conducted on 2080 adult survivors selected from 19 of the counties hardest-hit by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. The Social Support Rating Scale and the Coping Scale were used to predict the PTG.ResultsA bivariate correlation analysis showed that there was a correlation between posttraumatic growth, social support and coping strategies. The mediation analysis revealed that coping strategies played a mediating role between social support and posttraumatic growth in survivors after the earthquake.ConclusionThe results demonstrated that mental health programs for survivors need to focus on the establishment of a good social support network, which was found to be conductive to maintaining and increasing mental health levels. At the same time, adequate social support is able to assist survivors in adopting mature coping strategies, such as problem solving and asking for help. Hence, social support was found to play a vital role in balancing and protecting mental health.

Highlights

On May 12th 2008, at 14:28 pm, an earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale struck Wenchuan, Sichuan Province, China, resulting in enduring physical and mental problems for survivors, many of whom had been left homeless or had experienced the death of a loved one
Natural disasters often result in negative consequences; sometimes positive changes, such as posttraumatic growth (PTG) –‘‘a positive change experienced as a result of the struggle with trauma’’ [1,2], can arise from such tragedies
PTG has been observed in survivors of a wide range of traumatic events, such as the recently bereaved, those suffering from serious medical illnesses, and those who have been exposed to rape, warfare, natural disasters and [7,8,9,10] and military combat [11]

Summary

Introduction

On May 12th 2008, at 14:28 pm, an earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale struck Wenchuan, Sichuan Province, China, resulting in enduring physical and mental problems for survivors, many of whom had been left homeless or had experienced the death of a loved one. Recent research into positive outcomes after trauma has heightened attention on this issue, as has emphasized the transformative potential of a person after highly stressful events or circumstances [6]. PTG has been observed in survivors of a wide range of traumatic events, such as the recently bereaved, those suffering from serious medical illnesses, and those who have been exposed to rape, warfare, natural disasters and [7,8,9,10] and military combat [11]. Most PTG literature has centered on the survivors of serious medical illnesses, with very few examining earthquake survivors [12,13]. PTG literature on earthquake survivors has hypothesized that PTG plays a similar role in terms of psychological intervention to that in survivors of serious medical illness

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion