Do levels of posttraumatic growth vary by type of traumatic event experienced? An analysis of the Nurses' Health Study II.

BackgroundBreast cancer, a potential traumatic stressor, may be accompanied by positive changes, such as post-traumatic growth (PTG), which may allow patients to overcome this stressful event more easily. Our aim was to identify factors associated with PTG in breast cancer survivors (BCSs).MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study in Seintinelles volunteers who answered online questionnaires. PTG was measured using the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). Data on sociodemographic, health-related factors and lifestyle habits, fear of cancer recurrence, health locus of control, coping strategies, and time perspective were collected.ResultsThe study included 821 BCSs aged 26 to 79 years, one to 16 years after cancer diagnosis. Mean of PTG scores were: relating to others 20.27 ± 6.61; new possibilities 14.00 ± 5.44; personal strength 12.24 ± 4.32; spiritual change 2.95 ± 2.54; appreciation of life 10.59 ± 3.00 and total PTG 60.05 ± 18.11. Several factors were associated with PTG: health-related factors (satisfaction with one’s own health, longer time since diagnosis), lifestyle habits (increasing physical activity level and stopping or reducing alcohol consumption after diagnosis), elements of locus of control (powerful others), coping strategies (positive thinking, seeking social support) and time perspective (present hedonistic), which were significantly positively associated with PTG. Chance locus of control and coping avoidance were inversely related to several PTG domains, even several years after diagnosis.ConclusionsPTG may be increased in BCSs by acting on its modifiable factors. This includes adopting healthy behaviours, such as increasing physical activity and stopping/reducing alcohol consumption, and developing locus of control elements, such as powerful others, and coping strategies, such as positive thinking and seeking social support, through targeted interventions. Further studies, especially longitudinal studies, are needed to confirm the observed associations between health behaviours, health locus of control, time perspective, and PTG scores. Other measures, such as post-traumatic stress, should be considered because of possible inferences with PTG.

Post-traumatic growth and its predictors among Syrian refugees in Istanbul: A mental health population survey

Background: Due to the job characteristics, firefighters are repeatedly exposed to trauma incidents. However, not all firefighters exhibit the same level of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or post-traumatic growth (PTG). Despite this, few studies have looked into firefighters’ PTSD and PTG. Objective: This study identified subgroups of firefighters based on their PTSD and PTG levels, and investigated the influence of demographic factors and PTSD/PTG-related factors on latent class classification. Method: Latent profile analysis was used to examine the patterns of PTSD and PTG among 483 firefighters in South Korea. Using a cross-sectional design, demographic factors and job factors were examined as group covariates through a three-step approach. PTSD-related factors such as depression and suicide ideation, as well as PTG-related factors such as emotion-based response were analysed as differentiating factors. Results: Four classes were identified and named ‘Low PTSD-low PTG (65.2%),’ ‘Mid PTSD-mid PTG (15.5%),’ ‘Low PTSD-high PTG (15.3%),’ and ‘High PTSD-mid PTG (3.9%).’ The likelihood of belonging to the group with high trauma-related risks increased with more rotating shift work and years of service. The differentiating factors revealed differences based on the levels of PTSD and PTG in each group. Conclusions: 34.8% of firefighters experienced changes due to traumatic events while on the job, and some required serious attention. Modifiable job characteristics, such as the shift pattern, indirectly affected PTSD and PTG levels. Individual and job factors should be considered together when developing trauma interventions for firefighters.

BackgroundWithin disaster-affected communities, residents’ exposures and post-disaster mental health outcomes can vary widely. Yet, few studies have explored the relationship between such diverse disaster-related exposures and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in a Puerto Rican context. MethodsTo address this gap, we used data from the Preparedness to Reduce Exposures and Diseases Post-hurricanes and Augment Resilience (PREPARE) study, a cohort of mainly Hispanic Puerto Ricans who experienced Hurricanes Maria and Irma in 2017. This analysis focused on 484 individuals who completed structured interviews 20 to 34 months after the hurricanes. We evaluated the associations between five different disaster exposures (e.g., financial, home damage, personal health, and familial health), posttraumatic stress (PTS), and PTG and its five domains (personal strength, new possibilities, improved relationships, spiritual growth, and appreciation of life), controlling for demographic, geographic, and social factors. ResultsIn multivariable models, higher total disaster score was associated with higher levels of both PTS and PTG (2.91 and 3.87, respectively). Personal health impacts were consistently associated with higher levels on all PTG subscales, ranging from 0.89 to 1.94, which was not the case for other exposures. Specifically, home damage was associated with higher levels on all PTG subscales except spiritual growth, and financial and familial health impacts were associated with greater identification with new possibilities and appreciation of life only. ConclusionThese findings provide novel evidence that different disaster-related exposures have distinct associations with the different PTG domains in Puerto Rico. These findings can inform future efforts to address post-disaster mental health ailments by bolstering different aspects of PTG.

La croissance post-traumatique chez les victimes de violences conjugales : une étude pilote dans la Vienne

The large-scale and intense combat actions that began in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, have necessitated an increasing mobilization of the civilian population for conscription into military service. Mobilized servicemen faced challenges in adapting to military service and the realities of intense combat. However, mobilization for military service also complicated the well-being of their families. The study aimed to determine the role of proactive coping in post-traumatic growth (PTG) among mobilized military personnel with various marital statuses after participating in combat operations. The Armed Forces of Ukraine mobilized military personnel (N = 237 males, aged 20-59 years) participated in this study after engaging in combat operations. The study participants were divided into two groups depending on their marital status: the married group and the unmarried group. The "Proactive Coping Questionnaire" and "Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory" were used to investigate the relationship between proactive coping and PTG among mobilized military personnel. Correlation and hierarchical linear regression analysis were used to determine the contribution of proactive coping to PTG and the role of marital status among mobilized military personnel. The level of statistical significance in the married group was achieved between the coping strategy "Emotional Support Seeking" and the PTG domains "New Possibilities" (r = 0.310, p < 0.001), "Personal strength" (r = 0.325, p < 0.001), and "Post-traumatic Growth Overall Score" (r = 0.287, p < 0.001). The level of statistical significance was achieved in the unmarried group between the coping strategies "Reflective Coping" (r = 0.358, p < 0.001), "Preventive Coping" (r = 0.340, p < 0.001), "Instrumental Support Seeking" (r = 0.423, p < 0.001), and the PTG domain "New Possibilities". The PTG domain "Relating to Others" showed a statistically significant correlation with the coping strategy "Emotional Support Seeking" (r = 0.347, p < 0.001). Such relationships were also found in the "Proactive Coping Overall Score" and the "Posttraumatic Growth Overall Score." Both married and unmarried service members showed similar average scores in terms of proactive coping and PTG after their combat experiences. Among married service members, PTG was linked solely to the coping style of "Seeking Emotional Support." In contrast, unmarried service members exhibited PTG that was influenced by two proactive coping styles: "Reflexive Coping" and "Seeking Emotional Support." Additionally, marital status played a role in moderating the impact of the overall proactive coping score on PTG, but it was a significant predictor only for unmarried service members. This research adds to the existing body of knowledge on personal growth induced by traumatic events and the role of proactive coping in PTG of mobilized military personnel with marital status. The results obtained lay the groundwork for future research that could enhance our understanding of this process among military personnel after combat operations.

This thesis has two purposes. The first is to investigate the motivation for household&#13;\nmigration - in particular, the associations between the different reasons for moving&#13;\nand the characteristics of owner-occupier movers in Scotland, their houses and the&#13;\ndistances they travel. The second is to investigate the extent to which the migration&#13;\ndecision is a longitudinal one, and from this longitudinal analysis to highlight the&#13;\nextent of latent migration. Little longitudinal research has previously been carried out&#13;\non the migration decision.&#13;\nThe thesis uses two recent, large-scale and under-utilised data sources to investigate&#13;\neach of these issues. Firstly, the associations with motivations for migration are&#13;\ninvestigated using the 'Migration and Housing Choice Survey' (MHCS) which&#13;\ncontains information from 10,010 households. The advantage of this cross-sectional&#13;\nsource lies in its provision of detailed information on motivations at a national level of&#13;\ncoverage. The large-scale, national coverage makes it possible to investigate many&#13;\ntypes of migration flow. This advantage is not shared by any other British research&#13;\ninto motivations for migration and only three other data sets elsewhere. Secondly,&#13;\nthe extent to which the decision to n-iigrate is part of an on-going process is&#13;\ninvestigated using the 'British Household Panel Survey' (BBPS). This new and&#13;\nunder-exploited source of migration data contains longitudinal information from&#13;\n10,264 individuals in the first wave and holds approximately this sample size through&#13;\neach of the following four waves.&#13;\nThis thesis makes four key contributions to knowledge. The first three are based on&#13;\nthe detailed and systematic analysis of the reasons for residential migration behaviour&#13;\nof owner-occupiersin Scotland,u sing the MHCS. Firstly, the reasonsf or moving, as&#13;\nsuggestedb y previously small-scaler esearch,h ave been confirmed by this large-scale&#13;\ndata set. Secondly, this thesis has extended - and in some cases refuted - the findings&#13;\nof previous researchb y investigatingt he bivariate associationsb etween each of the&#13;\nreasons for moving and each possible explanatory variables (these being&#13;\ncharacteristicso f migrants, of their home and of the distancest hey move). This has&#13;\nbeen investigated using much wider selection of reasons for moving and of&#13;\ncharacteristicsth an hasb eenp reviouslyd one. Thirdly, this thesish as shown that lifecycle&#13;\nstage exerts a considerable amount of influence on the reasons given for&#13;\nmoving, whilst still operating in conjunction with other variables, such as distance&#13;\nmoved and housing features. The MIHCS can, for the first time, enable research into&#13;\nthe connection between the factors influencing migration flows and the factors&#13;\ninfluencing motivations for migration.&#13;\nFourthly, this thesis has investigated how migration decisions and preference for&#13;\nmigration relate over time, using longitudinal data (the BHPS). This has shown that a&#13;\nconsiderable amount of latent mobility is present in Britain, and even more&#13;\nimportantly, has identified the characteristics of the latent migrants and frequent&#13;\nmovers. In addition, this thesis has offered some methodological pointers for future&#13;\nmigration research.&#13;\nOverall, the use of these two important but under-utilised data sets, the MECS and&#13;\nthe BBPS, have enabled analyses to be undertaken that are unique in the history of&#13;\nnýgration research.&#13;\nV

Locating event centrality in associations of emotion regulation with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and posttraumatic growth in emerging adults

Pandemic-related posttraumatic psychological growth in U.S. military veterans: A 3-year, nationally representative, longitudinal study

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) refers to violence inflicted by partners that can result in traumatic consequences for the victim. IPV not only adversely affects both physical and mental health but could also enable individuals to achieve positive changes after trauma, a phenomenon recognized as Post Traumatic Growth (PTG). PTG is intricately linked with various factors, one noteworthy factor being coping strategies. Among these strategies, religious coping is a significant approach that individuals adopt when confronted with difficulties and challenges. This research seeks to conduct a literature review on studies related to understanding posttraumatic growth and examining the role of religious coping in the recovery process of individuals who have experienced IPV. The method of this reserach is based on the De Klerk &amp; Pretorius (2019), which follows these steps: (1) selecting reserach topic, (2) finding relevant resources, (3) selecting key liteature (4) data extraction (5) analyzing data, (6) presenting the findings, and (7) drawing conclusions. A total of 23 articles from 2014 to 2024 were eligible and analyzed to explore the relationship between PTG and religious coping among IPV survivors. Results of the present review suggest that religious coping is associated with PTG by transforming meaning in life, using faith and religious practices as a source of personal strength, and improving relationships with others. These aspects are aligned with the domains of PTG, namely changes in outlook on life, perception of self, and experience of relationships with others. This findings provides implications for practitioners to integrate religious coping strategies into the recovery process of IPV survivors to help them promote growth.

&lt;b&gt;Background&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; The aim of the study was to answer the following research questions: What percentage of women after breast cancer surgery experienced posttraumatic growth (PTG)? Which aspect of PTG was experienced to the greatest extent by the participants? Do age at the day of survey, age at diagnosis, time since diagnosis, type of surgery, non-surgical methods of treatment, participation in rehabilitation or physical activity significantly differentiate participants in PTG?&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;b&gt;Participants and procedure&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Forty-seven women after breast cancer surgery participated in the study. Posttraumatic growth was measured with the Polish version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) consisting of 4 scales: Self-Perception (SP), Relating to Others (RO), Appreciation of Life (AL) and Spiritual Change (SC). The demographic, disease and treatment related variables were controlled.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;b&gt;Results&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Forty-three percent of participants experienced high, 23% moderate, and 34% little or no PTG. Posttraumatic growth manifested itself mainly positive changes in relationships with others. Age at the day of the survey did not correlate significantly with scores of PTGI. Age at diagnosis correlated significantly with total PTG (ρ = –0.37, p = .012), SP (ρ = –0.33, p = .029), RO (ρ = –0.40, p = .008) and AL (ρ = –0.39, p = .010). Women aged ≤ 50 at the day of the survey had significantly higher scores of AL than women &gt; 50 (U = 117.50, p = .042). Women who were physically active at the day of the survey had significantly higher scores in total PTG (U = 118.50, p = .008), SP (U = 7.28, p = .007) and RO (U = 108.00, p = .003). Time since diagnosis, type of treatment and participation in rehabilitation after the surgery did not differentiate respondents significantly in PTG.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; &lt;b&gt;Conclusions&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br /&gt; Posttraumatic growth was experienced by a considerable percentage of participants. The average level of PTG was moderate. Women physically active at the time of the survey showed higher levels of PTG. We recommend that women after breast cancer surgery should be encouraged by medical staff, family and friends to undertake physical activity as soon as possible.

Background: Supporting wellbeing beyond symptom reduction is necessary in trauma care. Research suggests increased posttraumatic growth (PTG) may promote wellbeing more effectively than posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom reduction alone. Understanding neurobiological mechanisms of PTG would support PTG intervention development. However, most PTG research to-date has been cross-sectional data self-reported through surveys or interviews. Objective: Neural evidence of PTG and its coexistence with resilience and PTSD is limited. To advance neural PTG literature and contribute translational neuroscientific knowledge necessary to develop future objectively measurable neural-based PTG interventions. Method: Alpha frequency EEG and validated psychological inventories measuring PTG, resilience, and PTSD symptoms were collected from 30 trauma-exposed healthy adults amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. EEG data were collected using custom MNE-Python software, and a wireless OpenBCI 16-channel dry electrode EEG headset. Psychological inventory scores were analysed in SPSS Statistics and used to categorise the EEG data. Power spectral density analyses, t-tests and ANOVAs were conducted within EEGLab to identify brain activity differentiating high and low PTG, resilience, and PTSD symptoms. Results: Higher PTG was significantly differentiated from low PTG by higher alpha power in the left centro-temporal brain area around EEG electrode C3. A trend differentiating high PTG from PTSD was also indicated in this same location. Whole-scalp spectral topographies revealed alpha power EEG correlates of PTG, resilience and PTSD symptoms shared limited, but potentially meaningful similarities. Conclusion: This research provides the first comparative neural topographies of PTG, resilience and PTSD symptoms in the known literature. Results provide objective neural evidence supporting existing theory depicting PTG, resilience and PTSD as independent, yet co-occurring constructs. PTG neuromarker alpha C3 significantly delineated high from low PTG and warrants further investigation for potential clinical application. Findings provide foundation for future neural-based interventions and research for enhancing PTG in trauma-exposed individuals.

Objective To identify the posttraumatic growth (PTG) level of cancer patients and to examine the effects of rumination on posttraumatic growth of cancer patients. Methods A total of 312 cancer patients were recruited by convenience sampling. A cross-sectional study was conducted in cancer patient by means of questionnaires that included demographic scale, Event Related Rumination Inventory and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). Results A total score of event-related rumination in cancer patients was 25.13±11.11, and the total score of posttraumatic growth was 67.21±14.66. The PTG was positively correlated to event-related rumination in cancer patients (r=0.384, P < 0.01). Multiple stepwise regressions indicated that the variables of deliberate of rumination, gender, age, degree of psychological distress, intrusive rumination and education level were main predictors of PTG. Among those deliberate of rumination positively predicts PTG, while intrusive rumination negatively predicts PTG. The level of PTG in female gender cancer patients were higher than male patients, younger age and high education level, less psychological distress patients related to higher PTG. Conclusions Cancer patients reported a lower level of rumination and PTG. Clinical healthcare providers should inspire and promote cancer patients' deliberate rumination, decrease their intrusive rumination, pay attention to male, more psychological distress, older age and lower education level patients, in order to facilitate patients' PTG and then improve their quality of life. Key words: Neoplasms; Rumination; Posttraumatic growth

Recent findings indicate that both disruptive Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and healthy Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG) responses have some spatial distribution depending on where they are measured and the different degrees of exposure that people may have to a critical event (e.g., earthquake). Less is known about how these responses change as a function of space and time after these events. The objective of this study was to enter deeper into this relationship analysing how PTSD and PTG responses vary in their spatial distribution 6 and 7 years after an earthquake (such as the one that occurred on 27 February, 2010 in Cauquenes City, Chile). Spatial analyses based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were performed to detect global and local geographic clustering. Investigating 171 (2016) and 106 (2017) randomly selected adults from Cauquenes, we demonstrated that 7 years after the event only 4 variables were spatially clustered, i.e. personal mental strength, interpersonal relations, new possibilities and appreciation of life), all of them PTG dimensions; This result contrasted with the situation the previous year (2016), when 7 variables were clustered (total PTG, spiritual change, new possibilities, appreciation of life, PTSD symptoms, PTSD reactions and PTSD in total). The spatial identifications found could facilitate the comparison of mental health conditions in populations and the impact of recovery programmes in communities exposed to disasters.

The ability to derive growth from a traumatic event, such as a cancer diagnosis, can facilitate effective adaptation to the challenges associated with cancer survivorship. In two studies, we investigated the possible cognitive mechanisms explaining the relationship between post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic growth in female survivors of breast cancer. Specifically, Study 1 examined the role of interpretation bias, and Study 2 examined the role of cognitive restructuring of trauma. In Study 1, 113 participants completed questionnaires assessing stress- and anxiety-related symptomatology, post-traumatic stress and growth, perceived cognitive functioning, and positive interpretation bias. In Study 2, 117 participants completed questionnaires assessing stress and anxiety-related symptoms, rumination, perceived cognitive functioning, cognitive restructuring of trauma, and post-traumatic stress and growth. In both studies, post-traumatic stress was negatively related to post-traumatic growth. In Study 1, positive interpretation bias explained a significant amount of variance in the relationship between post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic growth, with perceived cognitive functioning moderating the relationship between interpretation bias and post-traumatic growth. In Study 2, cognitive restructuring explained a significant amount of variance in the relationship between post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic growth, with deliberate rumination moderating the effects of cognitive restructuring on post-traumatic growth. Cognitive mechanisms are key to understanding the relationship between post-traumatic stress and growth and should be targeted in interventions to improve cognitive flexibility and resilience among breast cancer survivors.