Perceptions Of Posttraumatic Growth Research Articles

"I'm a Winner, Not a Victim": The Facilitating Factors of Post-Traumatic Growth among Women Who Have Suffered Intimate Partner Violence.

Post-traumatic growth (PTG) is a positive psychological change following trauma. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is one such trauma. The aim of this phenomenological study was to explore PTG from the perspective of women who have survived IPV as well as their perceptions of PTG. Twenty-two female IPV survivors aged 23–56 who reached PTG, according to the working definition used, were interviewed. The overriding theme of the study was “I’m a winner, not a victim”, which describes the essence of the women’s experience of PTG. They described their experience as a shift from being suffering victims of IPV to becoming winners who enjoyed PTG. They felt that their positive attitude and personal strengths had helped them to reach PTG as well as to face the fact that they had been in an abusive relationship, thus forgiving and believing in themselves and taking responsibility for their own health and well-being. They sought knowledge about violence, how to process it, and how to respond to triggers. They set boundaries for their perpetrators and were in as little contact with them as possible. They chose the company of positive, supportive, and constructive people and situations where they were not being controlled. It was concluded that, even though suffering IPV is a terrible experience that no one should endure, the participants’ experiences had resulted in PTG that they treasured.

Post-Traumatic Growth in Parents following Their Child's Death in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Background: Although bereaved parents suffer greatly, some may experience positive change referred to as post-traumatic growth. Objective: Explore the extent to which parents perceive post-traumatic growth after their child's death in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), and associated factors. Design: Longitudinal parent survey conducted 6 and 13 months after a child's death. Surveys included the Post-traumatic Growth Inventory-Short Form (PTGI-SF), a 10-item measure with range of 0-50 where higher scores indicate more post-traumatic growth. Surveys also included the Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG), the Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8) for depression, the Short Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Rating Interview (SPRINT), a single item on perceived overall health, and sociodemographics. Setting/Subjects: One hundred fifty-seven parents of 104 children who died in 1 of 8 PICUs affiliated with the U.S. Collaborative Pediatric Critical Care Research Network. Results: Of participating parents, 62.4% were female, 71.6% White, 82.7% married, and 89.2% had at least a high school education. Mean PTGI-SF scores were 27.5 ± 12.52 (range 5-50) at 6 months and 28.6 ± 11.52 (range 2-49) at 13 months (p = 0.181). On multivariate modeling, higher education (compared with those not completing high school) and higher 6-month ICG scores (reflecting more complicated grief symptoms) were associated with lower 13-month PTGI-SF scores (p = 0.005 and 0.033, respectively). Conclusion: Parents bereaved by their child's PICU death perceive a moderate degree of post-traumatic growth in the first 13 months after the death however variability is wide. Education level and complicated grief symptoms may influence parents' perception of post-traumatic growth.

Wellbeing, symptoms of trauma, and personal resources in Palestinian professional helpers: a cross-sectional quantitative survey

BackgroundProfessional helpers working in adverse circumstances are at risk of developing psychosocial stress and signs of primary and secondary trauma (eg, anxiety and hyperarousal). We used modelling to investigate whether and to what extent personal resources (ie, post-traumatic growth, sense of coherence, and wellbeing) of Palestinian helpers affected their experience of psychological distress and trauma symptoms. MethodsEligible participants were professional health-care providers working in Gaza and the West Bank, occupied Palestinian territory, between June and October, 2018. We used the following quantitative measures: WHO Well Being Index (WHO-5), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), Impact of Event Scale (IES-13), Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-3), and Post-traumatic Growth Index (PTGI-10). Data were analysed by multivariate structural equation modelling with latent and empirical indicators to test the fit of these constructs to the empirical data. The model was specified to evaluate whether and to what extent mental resources may be interpreted as a set of protective factors mitigating risk factors. The study was approved by the ethics board of the University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy. Written consent was obtained from participants. Findings181 participants were enrolled, ranging in age from 18 to 65 years (mean 31·1, SD 8·7). 135 (75%) were men. The mean GHQ-12 score was 17·7 (SD 7·5), revealing a medium to high degree of psychological trauma. 60 (33%) participants reported low mood (although not necessarily depression) on WHO-5. The structural model showed an excellent fit (χ2 [24] 31·8, p=0·132, root mean square error of approximation 0·043, 90% CI 0·019–0·077). Stronger personal resources were associated with lower levels of both psychological distress (β=–0·25, p<0·01) and trauma (β=–0·16, p<0·01). Personal resources were especially associated with reduced levels of anxiety (β=–0·23, p<0·01) and intrusion symptoms (β=–0·22, p<0·01). InterpretationOur integrated model showed that, despite heavy psychological burden, perceptions of post-traumatic growth, coherence, and wellbeing are associated with reduced psychological distress. Targeted training of health-care providers focused on self-awareness of their personal skills and survival resources could improve their psychological health. The study was limited by the cross-sectional research design, and the outcomes of the structural model should be read in terms of probabilistic associations rather than cause-effect relationships. A second limitation concerns the kind of data collected. All the research instruments yielded self-reported quantitative scores, meaning that the standardised β weights in the model could potentially be an artifact of common method variance (ie, attributable to the measurement method rather than to the constructs themselves. FundingNone.

Comparing Korean perceptions of posttraumatic growth depending on the context of nation and religiosity

Comparing Korean perceptions of posttraumatic growth depending on the context of nation and religiosity

Does prolonged grief treatment foster posttraumatic growth? Secondary results from a treatment study with long-term follow-up and mediation analysis.

Prolonged grief disorder (PGD) is a persistent and disabling kind of grief reaction that can be treated effectively with psychotherapeutic interventions. There has been limited investigation of whether these interventions can also enhance positive outcomes of bereavement, such as posttraumatic growth or benefit finding. As part of secondary analyses in a randomized controlled trial evaluating integrative cognitive-behavioural therapy for PGD (PG-CBT), the posttraumatic growth trajectories in 51 outpatients with clinically relevant prolonged grief symptoms were followed up from baseline up to 1.5years. Immediate treatment effects on posttraumatic growth in comparison with a waiting list control group were evaluated with univariate ANCOVA. Using mediation analysis, we examined the relation between symptom reduction and the short-term treatment effect on posttraumatic growth. For evaluating long-term outcome stability, the immediately treated group and the delayed treatment group were pooled. PG-CBT significantly fostered growth in patients suffering from PGD, with a controlled medium effect size of Cohen's d=0.60 (completer analysis). This effect remained stable up to the 1.5-year follow-up. Grief symptom reduction mediated short-term treatment effects on posttraumatic growth. However, growth also partially mediated treatment effects on prolonged grief symptoms. Taken together, PG-CBT was effective in enhancing the participants' perception of posttraumatic growth, but the definite interaction between symptom reduction and posttraumatic growth remains unclear, as both seemed to influence each other's trajectory in the course of treatment. Integrative CBT for prolonged grief disorder also fostered posttraumatic growth. Post-treatment and 1.5-year follow-up effect sizes for posttraumatic growth were moderate. Whether growth-enhancing techniques are useful in grief treatment needs further research.

Gratitude, psychological well-being, and perceptions of posttraumatic growth in adults who lost a parent in childhood

ABSTRACTFindings from an online survey of 350 adults who experienced early parental death showed that current dispositional gratitude was positively correlated with psychological well-being and posttraumatic growth and negatively correlated with depression. Further, 281 participants produced textual responses indicating they could remember the time following their parent’s death. Increases in gratitude attributable to the experience of losing a parent were reported by 79% of these participants. They associated their increased gratitude with a newfound belief that life is precious and with greater appreciation for loved ones. Direction of change in gratitude was associated with psychological well-being, posttraumatic growth, and depression.

The Theory of Motivated Information Management and Posttraumatic Growth: Emerging Adults’ Uncertainty Management in Response to an Adverse Life Experience

This study tested the degree to which the uncertainty management process that emerging adults go through following an adverse event predicts their perceptions of posttraumatic growth. Participants included 215 emerging adults who had experienced an adverse life event within the past year. Overall, the results largely supported the theory of motivated information management, as uncertainty discrepancies positively predicted negative emotions about the adverse event, which in turn predicted outcome expectancies, but not efficacy assessments. Outcome expectancies were predictive of efficacy assessments, which in turn were predictive of a willingness to seek information about the event from a parent. Collectively, uncertainty management behaviors predicted posttraumatic growth and included significant indirect effects for uncertainty discrepancies through communication and target efficacy, respectively.

A longitudinal investigation of the relationship between unconditional positive self-regard and posttraumatic growth

The present study investigated whether unconditional positive self-regard (UPSR) is associated with subsequent posttraumatic growth (PTG) following the experience of a traumatic life event. A total of 143 participants completed an online questionnaire to assess the experience of traumatic life events, posttraumatic stress, well-being and UPSR (Time 1). Three months later, 76 of the participants completed measures of well-being and perceived PTG (Time 2). Analyses were conducted to test for association between UPSR at Time 1 and perceptions of PTG at Time 2. Results showed that higher UPSR at T1 was associated with higher perceived PTG at Time 2. To measure actual growth, individual differences in well-being were computed between Time 1 and Time 2. Results showed that higher UPSR at T1 was associated with higher actual PTG. Implications of these findings are discussed and future directions for research in this area considered. Specifically, results are consistent with a person-centered understanding of therapeutic approaches to the facilitation of PTG

An examination of post-traumatic growth in Canadian and American ParaSport athletes with acquired spinal cord injury

ObjectivesThe study was guided by two research questions: (1) Does participation in ParaSport following acquired spinal cord injury (SCI) influence people's perceptions of post traumatic growth (PTG)? (2) What specific dimensions of PTG, if any, do ParaSport athletes report experiencing? DesignA phenomenological approach was adopted to understand ParaSport athletes' perceptions and experiences of PTG and sport participation following acquired SCI. MethodTwelve participants with acquired SCI who integrated, reintegrated, or attempted to integrate into sport completed a survey and participated in a semi-structured interview to assess their perceptions of acquired SCI, involvement in ParaSport, and PTG. ResultsFive general dimensions of growth emerged from the data including: (a) injury relevant processing; (b) appreciation for life; (c) reactive behavior as a result of attempted integration into ParaSport; (d) relating to others and (e) health and well-being. Participants reported increased physical functioning and independence related to their involvement in sport. Emotional and psychological gains were also associated with ParaSport including re-establishment of self-identity, improved clarity and perception of life, changed priorities, greater confidence, and enhanced social relationships. ConclusionsParticipation in ParaSport following acquired SCI may provide physical, emotional, and psychological health benefits, which should be considered in the development and implementation of sport related interventions to encourage PTG. Clinicians and rehabilitation specialists may use information from the present study to help individuals improve their identity, build relationships, and develop an appreciation for life after incurring a SCI.

Bereavement, religion, and posttraumatic growth: A matched control group investigation.

This study examined the intersection between bereavement, religion, and posttraumatic growth (PTG). A total of 369 young adults completed the Brief Multidimensional Measure of Religiousness/Spirituality (Fetzer Institute/NIA, 1999) and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996), divided equally into three groups: one bereaved by a violent loss (accident, suicide, or homicide) in the prior two years, one bereaved by a nonviolent death in the prior two years, and a third, nonbereaved group that experienced a general life stressor in the two years preceding the study. Individuals in the two bereaved groups generally endorsed greater religiousness when compared with persons in the nonbereaved group (as assessed by daily spiritual experiences, organizational religiousness, religious coping, forgiveness, and religious support). In addition, survivors who had lost loved ones to a violent death had higher scores across all domains of PTG and reported more distress symptomatology. When controlling for demographics and other study variables, bereavement status and religion factors significantly increased the explained variance in participants’ perceptions of PTG and psychological distress. Although the study design restricts the ability to draw any causal conclusions, these findings highlight the possible spiritual impact of bereavement and how specific dimensions of religion can contribute to growth and healing in the adjustment process.

Posttraumatic Growth in Women with Breast Cancer and Their Husbands

In the aftermath of a severely stressful event, in addition to reporting negative changes, people also report personal growth. The degree to which reports of posttraumatic growth by 41 women who survived breast cancer could be corroborated by their husbands was examined. Because the breast cancer experience is an equally stressful event for husbands and may present an opportunity for growth, the degree to which the husbands' reports of posttraumatic growth could be corroborated by their wives also was examined. Moderate positive correlations (r=.51, p<.01 for wives and r= .49, p <.01 for husbands) provided intersubjective validation of individuals' perceptions of posttraumatic growth.