ABSTRACT The death of a romantic partner results in major changes to the surviving partner’s psychological and physical well-being, yet post-bereavement sexual experiences are often disregarded in both research and clinical settings. Continuing bonds theory suggests that an internal emotional bond can persist between the bereaved and the memory of the deceased after the physical end of the relationship; that is, continuing bonds are often maintained through reminiscing about the deceased. On this premise, we suggest and demonstrate that sexual bonds are also maintained through reminiscing. A sample of 165 Canadian individuals who were bereaved of a prior romantic partner were recruited via Leger panels, social media, and online grief forums to complete an online survey. Sexual reminiscing was very common (80.5% of participants sexually reminisced about the deceased), frequent (31.8% of participants sexually reminisced about the deceased once a week or more), and generally positively valenced. We used multiple regression to understand who sexually reminisced more frequently and who evaluated those experiences as more positive. Results indicated that stronger general continuing bonds, higher past sexual satisfaction with the deceased, and higher posttraumatic growth were positively associated with sexual reminiscing frequency, while stronger continuing emotional bonds and past sexual satisfaction were positively associated with sexual reminiscing valence. Findings regarding their relevance to individuals and clinicians (e.g. couples and grief therapists) are discussed.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused serious negative psychological effects worldwide, relatively little research has been performed on the potential enduring effects of COVID-19 on people's emotional health and Internet addiction. This study was to examine the longitudinal associations between risk perception of COVID-19, depressive symptoms, and Internet addiction among Chinese undergraduates. We conducted a two-wave longitudinal survey by convenience sampling, a total of 1,153 Chinese undergraduate students completed questionnaires measuring their COVID-19 risk perception and post-traumatic growth (PTG) in December 2022 (T1) via an online survey. Subsequently, 1,008 of the T1 participants (87.42%) completed the depressive symptoms scale and Internet addiction scale 6 months later, in June 2023 (T2). (1) Risk perception of COVID-19 was significantly and positively predicted depressive symptoms and Internet addiction 6 months later; (2) Depressive symptoms played a mediating role between risk perceptions and Internet addiction; (3) PTG moderated the first-stage link between risk perception and Internet addiction, and this relationship was more robust for low PTG than for high PTG. These findings advance our understanding of the relationship and mechanisms between risk perception of COVID-19 and Internet addiction, and further support developing interventions to strengthen PTG for mitigating negative outcomes during major crises.

Migration under hostile circumstances and taking refuge in another country is a process which can have a great toll on mental health of the affected individuals. Religious beliefs and closeness to God could be instrumental in bringing post-traumatic growth and positive changes in one's life after any traumatic event. This study was carried out to evaluate the association of post-traumatic growth with use of religion and spirituality as a coping strategy among refugees residing in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. In this cross-sectional study, individuals who migrated from Indian Kashmir and got settled in the Thotha refugee camp at AJK were recruited during February to April 2024 for the study. Post-traumatic growth (PTG) was assessed via post-traumatic growth inventory. Religiosity as coping strategy was measured on brief religious coping scale (Brief RCOPE). Relationship of religious coping and other socio-demographic factors was correlated with PTG among the study participants. A total of three hundred and thirty participants were included in this study with mean age of 44.89±14.81. Majority of participants were male (n=237 (71.8%), married (n=260 (78.8%) and Unemployed (n=103 (31.2%). Participants who were ≤45 years old, single, employed, did not use illicit drugs and had more income had high PTG mean scores (p-value<0.05). The PTG scores of the study participants and Positive Religious coping score had positive correlation while PTG scores had negative correlation with Nnegative religious coping (r=-0.238, p-value <0.001). Post-traumatic growth was observed in individuals who were lining as refugees in camps at AJK. Individuals who were young, single, well paid and did not used illicit drugs had more chances of having PTG. Positive religious coping also increased the chances of having post-traumatic growth in individuals after migration and taking refuge in another country.

Background/Objectives: Post-traumatic growth (PTG) has the potential to draw positive consequences from trauma. Hence, there is interest in finding ways to promote PTG. Research has identified an attentional bias towards positive resilience-related words (e.g., "persistence", "purpose") in university students who report high PTG after experiencing adversities. Although people can respond to these experiences by showing low PTG, this bias seems to help with their struggle by making purposeful contents more accessible. Therefore, boosting attentional bias towards positive resilience-related words could help people with low PTG. Methods: In this study, the participants were thirty-six university students who had experienced bullying before entering university. Using a Stroop emotional task, they identified the color of resilience and neutral words, either positive or negative, before and after being submitted to transcranial direct current stimulation. Stimulation was targeted at the right temporal area involved in intentionality processing. Results: In the anodal condition, the results support a stimulation effect on the resilience attentional bias that could benefit participants with low PTG. A significant moderation of approach motivation for this effect was also found. Specifically, only when participants had medium or high approach motivation did stimulation boost the attentional bias in students with low PTG. Conclusions: These results support that tDCS stimulation in this brain area is effective in enhancing resilience attentional bias in low-PTG students. However, for this effect to occur it is necessary to have approach motivation, which is motivation related to goals.

Purpose After traumatic brain injury (TBI), individuals may face challenges in their social participation, self-awareness, and self-identity. However, positive life changes can also be experienced (i.e., post-traumatic growth). This study aimed to characterize the social participation, self-awareness, and self-identity of individuals with TBI displaying post-traumatic growth. Materials and methods Fifteen participants (male = 10, mean age = 49.7 years) with moderate to severe TBI (average years post-injury = 15.2) were included in this mixed-methods study. Self-report questionnaires were used to assess social participation, self-awareness, and self-identity. Qualitative data, collected using semi-structured interviews, were used to categorize participants into two groups: higher (n = 8) and lower (n = 7) post-traumatic growth. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize participants in each group in terms of their social participation, self-awareness, and self-identity. Results Participants with higher post-traumatic growth had increased social participation, higher self-awareness, and fewer negative discrepancies between their pre- and post-injury self-identities, compared to participants with lower post-traumatic growth. Conclusion This study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of post-traumatic growth through the use of both qualitative and quantitative data. These findings can inform future research and development of programs to promote post-traumatic growth post-TBI.

There is increasing interest in identifying how posttraumatic growth (PTG) impacts emotional processing following traumatic events (e.g., the COVID‐19 pandemic). Previous research suggests that high PTG levels may lead to enduring changes in positive emotional processing. Despite this fact, little is known regarding brain activation and responses to stressful emotional stimuli. The present study utilised event‐related potentials (ERPs) to investigate whether individual differences in emotional responses toward neutral and negative emotional stimuli related to COVID‐19 are related to self‐reported PTG levels. A total of 77 participants were analysed: 21 in the high PTG group and 56 in the control group. The amplitude of the N2 was smaller in the high PTG group compared to the control group under both negative and neutral conditions. When viewing the negative emotion pictures (vs. neutral pictures), the N2 amplitude significantly decreased for the high PTG group in the right occipital and frontal‐parietal areas, whereas no significant change was observed among the control group. In the time window Late Positive Potential (LPP) 600–1000 ms, emotional stimuli and the group interaction were significant. Viewing negative pictures (vs. neutral pictures) decreased the LPP 600–1000 ms amplitudes for the control group, mainly originating from the brain's frontal regions. However, there were no such significant differences for the PTG group. Due to the limited sample size and cultural differences, the applicability of these results to other regions or countries needs to be verified. The presented findings suggest that the impact of PTG during emotional response is reflected in both bottom‐up (evidenced by the early ERP components) and top‐down (evidenced by the later ERP components) processes. Individuals with high PTG may use a meditation‐related emotional regulation strategy of acceptance at the basic stage and non‐judgement at a later stage.

Understanding both the positive and negative psychological outcomes among cancer patients during the pandemic is critical for planning post-pandemic cancer care. This study (1) examined levels of psychological distress and post-traumatic growth (PTG) among Canadian cancer patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) explored variables that were associated with psychological distress and PTG during the pandemic using a biopsychosocial framework. A cross-section survey was undertaken of patients receiving ongoing care at a regional cancer centre in Ontario, Canada, between February and December 2021. Self-reported questionnaires assessing sociodemographic information, social difficulties, psychological distress (depression, anxiety fear of recurrence, and emotional distress), PTG, illness perceptions, and behavioural responses to the pandemic were administered. Disease-related information was extracted from patient health records. Prevalences of moderate to severe levels of depression, anxiety, fear of recurrence and emotional distress were reported by 26.0%, 21.2%, 44.2%, and 50.0% of the sample (N = 104), respectively. Approximately 43% of the sample reported experiencing high PTG, and these positive experiences were not associated with levels of distress. Social factors, including social difficulties, being female, lower education, and unemployment status were prominent associative factors of patient distress. Perceptions of the pandemic as threatening, adopting more health safety behaviours, and not being on active treatment also increased patient likelihood to experience severe psychological distress. Younger age and adopting more health safety behaviours increased the likelihood of experiencing high PTG. The discriminatory power of the predictive models was strong, with a C-statistic > 0.80. Examining both the positive and negative psychological patient outcomes during the pandemic has highlighted the complex range of coping responses. Interventions that adopt a multi-pronged approach to screen and address social distress, as well as to leverage health safety behaviours, may improve the adjustments in the pandemic aftermath.

Introduction: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) increase posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) after exposure to later trauma, but in Chinese society some cultural factors such as filial piety can be perceived as a protector buffering the negative results of ACEs on early adulthood adaptation. Method: This study used a longitudinal design to investigate whether dual filial piety—reciprocal filial piety (RFP: affection/gratitude) and authoritarian filial piety (AFP: role obligation/hierarchy)—are protective factors against PTSS and facilitate posttraumatic growth (PTG) following trauma among Taiwanese young adults. The final sample comprised 246 participants aged 18-25 years old who reported experiencing at least one type of trauma in their history of ACEs, RFP, AFP, PTSS, and PTG at Time 1. One (Time 2) and seven (Time 3) months later, 98 and 60 of the original respondents completed follow-up assessments. Results: Results showed that ACEs were significantly associated with higher PTSS, and both RFP and AFP significantly related to lower PTSS and higher PTG at Time 1 and Time 2. Furthermore, RFP mediated the relationship between ACEs and PTSS such that individuals with higher RFP reported lower PTSS across time. Discussion: These findings suggest that filial piety may serve as a protective factor against PTSS and facilitate PTG among traumatized Taiwanese individuals with a history of ACEs. The study implies that future research should explore the mechanisms underlying these relationships and consider how cultural factors may influence the role of filial piety in posttraumatic adjustment.

The study identified different patterns of symptom burden and posttraumatic growth (PTG) among patients with cancer and to explored the effects of sociodemographic, disease-related, and family resilience factors, which could provide reference for the development of personalized nursing measures. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 329 patients with cancer who were undergoing treatment. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to explore the patterns of symptom burden and PTG among patients with cancer, and multiple logistic regression analysis was used to explore the influencing factors of different patterns. Based on the fit indicators of LPA, a three-class pattern model of posttraumatic responses was shown to be optimal, including resisting, struggling, and growth groups. In the resisting group (34.34%), patients reported low symptom burden and low PTG; in the struggling group (19.15%), patients showed a high symptom burden and moderate PTG; in the growth group (46.51%), patients showed low symptom burden and high PTG. Moreover, patients with cancer with high levels of family resilience were more likely to fall into the struggling and growth groups. Specifically, those with lower scores in the optimistic attitude and higher scores in the family and social support dimension of family resilience were more likely to fall into the struggling group, whereas those with lower scores in the transcendence and spiritual belief dimensions of family resilience were more likely to fall into the resisting group. Additionally, patients with at least three children were more likely to fall into the struggling group. This study showed heterogeneity in symptom burden and PTG patterns among patients with cancer. Patients' growth must include both psychological growth and the mitigated symptom burden. Family factors may be intervention targets to improve the growth patterns.

Resilience plays a crucial role in mental health promotion and prevention, and was shown to be more represented in individuals who exhibit high levels of extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. However, there is a lack of studies that comprehensively investigate the association between personality traits and resilience in Lebanon and Arab countries more broadly. The purpose of the present study was to complement the literature by investigating the direct and indirect effects between the five personality traits and resilience among a sample of Lebanese adults through the intermediary role of posttraumatic growth. A cross-sectional study was carried out between May and July 2022, and enrolled 387 participants, all aged above 18 years old and recruited from all Lebanon governorates. The questionnaire used included socio-demographic questions, and the following scales: Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) to assess resilience, post traumatic growth (PTG), and Big Five Inventory (BFI-2). The SPSS software v.25 was used for the statistical analysis. Post-traumatic growth mediated the association between extraversion / agreeableness / conscientiousness and resilience. Higher extraversion / agreeableness / conscientiousness was significantly associated with more post-traumatic growth. Higher post-traumatic growth was significantly associated with more resilience. Extraversion, but not agreeableness and conscientiousness, was significantly and directly associated with more resilience. Findings suggest that fostering PTG in individuals who experience adversity can help promote their resilience. Hence, it could be beneficial to design and apply programs aiming at supporting PTG among people who experience stressful and traumatizing situations, to consequently help them increase their sense of resilience.

Perceived stress and posttraumatic growth in caregivers of pediatric burn patients undergoing mHealth-enhanced outpatient burn care: A pilot study

Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms (PTSS) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) are possible reactions to exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTEs) during military service. However, knowledge about patterns of both PTSS and PTG among female combat veterans is sparse. This study examines constellations of PTSS and PTG among Israeli female combat veterans, as well as military-related exposure and positive psychological correlates of these constellations. A volunteer sample of Israeli women combat veterans (n = 885) responded to self-report questionnaires in a cross-sectional design study. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to identify four profiles characterized by unique constellations of PTSS and PTG: moderate PTSS and high PTG (33%), moderate PTSS and moderate PTG (30%), low PTSS and high PTG (30%), and low PTSS and PTG (5.5%). Higher levels of combat experiences were associated with higher odds of inclusion in the moderate PTSS and high PTG and moderate PTSS and moderate PTG profiles. Moreover, compared to the other classes, both low PTSS and high PTG and moderate PTSS and high PTG classes were associated with higher levels of satisfaction with life and happiness psychological outcomes. The study's findings offer an overview of the complex pattern of associations between PTSS, PTG, and associated predictors and outcomes. Clinicians treating female veterans should be aware of the varying reactions to military service challenges, including the presence of moderate to high levels of PTG reactions in addition to PTSS.

Abstract Raising a child with a disability is associated with both negative and positive outcomes in parents. We explored the relationship between maternal and paternal stress and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in a Polish sample of 325 parents of children identified with intellectual disability (ID) or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) without ID. We found that the highest level of PTG is characteristic of mothers of children with ASD, followed by mothers of children with ID. However, a considerable proportion of fathers also experienced average or high PTG. Mothers experienced lower levels of stress than fathers. Whereas positive correlations (including the quadratic relation) between certain dimensions of stress and PTG were found in mothers, no significant correlations between the variables were indicated in fathers. The results of this study can inform recommendations to improve therapeutic activities aimed at providing them with support and strengthening transformative beneficial changes.

BackgroundGiven their clinical significance and impact on stress response and their potential malleability, resilience and posttraumatic growth (PTG) should receive greater attention as relevant constructs in clinical and research practice in the Arab context. We aimed through the present study to test the psychometric properties of Arabic translations of the 10-item Connor-Davidson Resilience scale (CD-RISC-10), the 10-item and the 8-item Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory-Short Form (PTGI-SF) in a sample of Lebanese adults from the general population.MethodsThree hundred eighty-seven Arabic-speaking participants (mean age = 26.17; 58.4% females) responded to a self-report web-based questionnaire. The forward and backward translation method was applied with the approval of the original developers of the scales.ResultsConfirmatory factor analysis indicated that fit of the one-factor model was acceptable, and all indices suggested that configural, metric, and scalar invariance was supported across gender for all the three scales. The CD-RISC-10, the 10-item and the 8-item PTGI-SF yielded a good internal consistency, with a McDonald’s ω of .89, .95, and .93, respectively. Higher resilience and higher PTG were significantly and positively associated with greater cognitive reappraisal and lower emotion suppression, supporting convergent validity.ConclusionWe preliminarily suggest that these Arabic instruments are appropriate for use in Lebanese community adults to assess different positive responses after life crises, identify people with lack or low levels of resilience and growth who might need intervention, and monitor their response to therapy. Further cross-cultural validations should seek to extend their use in broader Arabic-speaking populations and settings.

The experience of childhood cancer (CC) could be a traumatic event that produces long-term emotional responses such as posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in survivors. The relationship between both PTSS and PTG is not clear in CC survivors. Assessing challenges to core beliefs and rumination could give information regarding the different paths that lead to traumatic responses. Thus, this study aims to identify childhood cancer survivors' profiles from PTSS and PTG measures and to examine the pathways of relationships between PTSS and PTG, rumination, and challenge to core belief. Sixty-two CC survivors completed surveys on their childhood cancer experience, PTSS, PTG, challenge to core beliefs, and rumination. High PTG scores among childhood cancer survivors (Cluster 1), High PTSS scores among childhood cancer survivors (Cluster 2), and Childhood cancer survivors without changes (Cluster 3). Network analysis found that the challenge to core beliefs is the central point in the relationship between the variables, in a direct and positive relationship with PTG. We found an indirect path from challenge to core beliefs to PTSS, mediated by intrusive and deliberative ruminations. The combined findings suggested that there are different profiles related to trauma in CC survivors and the relationship between PTSS and PTG is mediated by the challenge to core beliefs and deliberative and intrusive rumination.

This quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group study developed an eight-session post-traumatic growth program for teachers who had experienced violence from students and/or parents and examined its effects on rumination, burnout, and post-traumatic growth. A convenience sample was recruited from 11 elementary schools in Jeonbuk province, South Korea. The experimental group (n = 27) participated in bi-weekly sessions over four weeks, whereas the control group (n = 27) read educational materials on post-traumatic growth during the same period. The experimental group exhibited significantly greater decreases in intrusive rumination and higher post-traumatic growth than the control group. The program could be an effective intervention to assist traumatized teachers.

Abstract This study investigated the relationship between traumatic experiences during peacekeeping operations in Lebanon (UNIFIL) between 1978 – 1998 and post traumatic growth (PTG), recalled and measured 17-38 years after, in a sample of 11 633 Norwegian military. Specifically, the study investigated how victim traumas (lethal danger) and moral traumas (moral failure) related to PTG, measured by the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (Cann et al., 2010). Emotional distress experienced during the traumas served as a potential mediator of this relationship, and leadership by closest superior a potential moderator of the mediation. The results showed a significant positive relationship between number of victim traumas and PTG, while number of moral traumas did not contribute to explain variance above this effect. The trauma - PTG relationship was partially mediated by emotional distress, but authentic- and laissez faire leadership did not moderate this mediation. In sum, the veterans with most traumatic experiences, as recalled 17-38 years later, had higher PTG, and emotional distress related to trauma mediated this growth. The findings indicate that traumatic experiences may represent a resource for growth and subsequent hope for recovery. Given the retrospective study-design which might have hindered accurate measurement of PTG, advice on future research approaches is included.

ABSTRACT 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.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine post-traumatic growth and its predictors in female relatives of patients with methamphetamine use disorder. Methods: The volunteers in our study consisted of 80 adult women who were first-degree relatives of male patients diagnosed with MUD. The Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory, the Hospital Anxiety-Depression Scale, the Impact of Events Scale , and the short form of the Coping with Stressful Situations Inventory were given to the relatives of the patients. Results: In our study, being employed and being married were found to affect task-oriented coping and changes in self-perception positively. Task-oriented coping or seeking emotional support from others predicted higher PTG. Task-oriented coping was positively associated with emotional coping and a change in the philosophy of life. The regression analysis determined that task-oriented and avoidant coping mechanisms were the best predictors of post-traumatic growth. Conclusions: The findings suggest that environmental and personal factors, such as being married, being employed, and the quality of social relationships that emerge with emotional and instrumental support, influence the experience of life crises. In addition, the duration of methamphetamine uses, the problem's, and the search for solutions were all associated with higher post-traumatic growth. Thus, the results of this study demonstrate that task-oriented coping, seeking emotional support, and the duration of methamphetamine use may contribute to post-traumatic growth.

We investigated the influence of post-traumatic growth (PTG) and mental health (MH) on multiple sclerosis (MS) caregivers’ uses of coping strategies and identified biopsychosocial predictors of proactive or reactive coping. The Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (PGI-21), Brief COPE Questionnaire (COPE-28), and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) were used to evaluate 209 caregivers. Higher PTG was related to greater use of emotional support, positive reframing, religion, active coping, instrumental support, planning, denial, self-distraction, self-blaming, and venting. Better MH was associated with greater use of acceptance, while behavioral disengagement and self-distraction were associated with poorer MH. The PTG dimensions relating to others and new possibilities, SF-12 dimensions of physical and emotional roles as well as partnership, not living with the patient, and significant others’ social support were predictors of proactive coping. Reactive coping was positively predicted by the PTG dimension relating to others, depression, vitality, other than partner relation, and physical role, and negatively predicted by mental health level and emotional role. In summary, higher MH was associated with proactive coping strategies, whereas post-traumatic growth was related to the use of a wide range of proactive coping as well as reactive coping strategies.