Abstract
Post-traumatic growth typically refers to enduring positive psychological change experienced as a result of adversity, trauma, or highly challenging life circumstances. Critics have challenged insights from much of the prior research on this topic, pinpointing its significant methodological limitations. In response to these critiques, we propose that post-traumatic growth can be more accurately captured in terms of personality change-an approach that affords a more rigorous examination of the phenomenon. We outline a set of conceptual and methodological questions and considerations for future work on the topic of post-traumatic growth. We provide a series of recommendations for researchers from across the disciplines of clinical/counseling, developmental, health, personality, and social psychology and beyond, who are interested in improving the quality of research examining resilience and growth in the context of adversity. We are hopeful that these recommendations will pave the way for a more accurate understanding of the ubiquity, durability, and causal processes underlying post-traumatic growth.
Highlights
The mantra “what doesn't kill you makes you stronger” resonates with many people and ties into a compelling cultural narrative proclaiming that adversity can be a source of strength and opportunity for post-traumatic growth (PTG)
We provide a series of recommendations for researchers from across the disciplines of clinical/counseling, developmental, health, personality, and social psychology and beyond, who are interested in improving the quality of research examining resilience and growth in the context of adversity
We are hopeful that these recommendations will pave the way for a more accurate understanding of the ubiquity, durability, and causal processes underlying post-traumatic growth
Summary
The mantra “what doesn't kill you makes you stronger” resonates with many people and ties into a compelling cultural narrative proclaiming that adversity can be a source of strength and opportunity for post-traumatic growth (PTG). Nietzsche famously wrote about it and contemporary popular musicians such as Kelly Clarkson (Elofsson, Tamposi, Gamson, & Kurstin, 2011) and Taylor Swift (Swift, Antonoff, Fairbrass, & Manzoli, 2017) sang about it Given both the degree and types of adversity individuals confront over the course of their lives, this narrative can be a source of hope and optimism (e.g., King, Scollon, Ramsey, & Williams, 2000). Despite the strong appeal of this narrative, empirical research provides limited evidence that adversity reliably leads to improved psychological functioning (Jayawickreme & Blackie, 2014; Mangelsdorf, Eid, & Luhmann, 2019) This lack of evidence is due, in part, to a host of challenges making this type of research extraordinarily difficult. In cross-sectional studies utilizing quantitative retrospective assessments of self-perceived growth, it is impossible to know whether such perceived change reflects actual change; participants may misremember their prior state, be influenced by social desirability pressures resulting from the cultural narrative, or they may be motivated to perceive growth where it has not occurred (Tennen & Affleck, 2009; see Davis et al, this issue)
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