Post-traumatic growth

Last updated

In psychology, posttraumatic growth (PTG) is positive psychological change experienced as a result of struggling with highly challenging, highly stressful life circumstances. [1] [2] These circumstances represent significant challenges to the adaptive resources of the individual, and pose significant challenges to the individual's way of understanding the world and their place in it. [1] Posttraumatic growth involves "life-changing" psychological shifts in thinking and relating to the world and the self, that contribute to a personal process of change, that is deeply meaningful. [1]

Contents

People who have experienced post-traumatic growth often report changes within the following five factors: appreciation of life; relating to others; personal strength; new possibilities; and spiritual, existential or philosophical change. [2]

Global Context & History

The general understanding that suffering and distress can potentially yield positive change is thousands of years old. [1] For example, some of the early ideas and writing of the ancient Hebrews, Greeks, and early Christians, as well as some of the teachings of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam [3] and the Baháʼí Faith [4] contain elements of the potentially transformative power of suffering. Attempts to understand and discover the meaning of human suffering represent a central theme of much philosophical inquiry and appear in the works of novelists, dramatists and poets. [3]

Traditional psychology's equivalent to thriving is resilience, which is reaching the previous level of functioning before a trauma, stressor, or challenge. The difference between resilience and thriving is the recovery point – thriving goes above and beyond resilience, and involves finding benefits within challenges. [5]

The term "posttraumatic growth" was coined by psychologists at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. [6] According to Tedeschi, as many as 89% of survivors report at least one aspect of posttraumatic growth, such as a renewed appreciation for life. [7]

Variants of the idea have included Crystal Park's proposed stress related growth model, which highlighted the derived sense of meaning in the context of adjusting to challenging and stressful situations, [8] and Joseph and Linley's proposed adversarial growth model, which linked growth with psychological wellbeing. [9] According to the adversarial growth model, whenever an individual is experiencing a challenging situation, they can either integrate the traumatic experience into their current belief system and worldviews or they can modify their beliefs based on their current experiences. [10] If the individual positively accommodates the trauma-related information and assimilates prior beliefs, psychological growth can occur following adversity. [10]

The Development of Post-Traumatic Growth

The Relationship Between Trauma, PTG, and Other Outcomes

Psychological trauma is an emotional response caused by severe distressing events that are outside the normal range of human experiences. [1] [2] While the idea that positive change may occur following trauma may seem paradoxical, it common and well documented. However, not everyone who experiences a traumatic event will necessarily develop post-traumatic growth. This is because growth does not occur as a direct result of trauma; rather, it is the individual's struggle with the new reality in the aftermath of trauma that is crucial in determining the extent to which post-traumatic growth occurs. [1] [9] [10] [8] [11]

While PTG often leads individuals to live in ways that are fulfilling and meaningful, the presence of PTG and distress are not mutually exclusive. [12] Experiencing trauma is typically associated with distress and loss, and PTG does not change this. PTG and negative trauma related outcomes (e.g. PTSD) often coexist. Encouragingly, reports of growth experiences in the aftermath of traumatic events far outnumber reports of psychiatric disorders. [1] [13]

Creating Post Traumatic Growth

Posttraumatic growth occurs with the attempts to adapt to highly negative sets of circumstances that can engender high levels of psychological distress such as major life crises, which typically engender unpleasant psychological reactions. [1] Such experiences often alter or renew one's core relationships or concepts, leading to PTG.

A Model of PTG

A Model of Post Traumatic Growth Posttraumatic growth process.png
A Model of Post Traumatic Growth

Calhoun and Tedeschi (2006) outline their updated model of posttraumatic growth in Handbook of Post-traumatic Growth: Research and Practice. Most importantly, this model includes: [14]

  • Characteristics of the Person and of the Challenging Circumstances [14]
  • Management of Emotional Distress [14]
  • Rumination [14]
  • Self-Disclosure [14]
  • Sociocultural Influences [14]
  • Narrative Development [14]
  • Life Wisdom [14]

Promotive Factors

Various factors have been identified as associated the development of PTG. In 2011 Iversen and Christiansen and Elklit suggested that predictors of growth have different effects on PTG on micro-, meso-, and macro level, and a positive predictor of growth on one level can be a negative predictor of growth on another level. This might explain some of the inconsistent research results within the area. [15]

Trauma Types: Characteristics of the traumatic event may contribute to the development or inhibition of PTG. For example, For PTG to come about, the severity of the traumatic experience must be enough to threaten one's preexisting understanding the world or their personal narrative. However, extremely severe trauma exposure may overwhelm one's ability to comprehend and grow from the experience. [14] Experiencing Multiple Sources of Trauma is also considered promotive of PTG. [16] While gender roles did not reliably predict PTG, they are indicative of the type of trauma that an individual experiences. Women tend to experience victimization on a more individual and interpersonal level (e.g. sexual victimization) while men tend to experience more systemic and collective traumas (e.g. military and combat). Given that group dynamics appear to play a predictive role in post-traumatic growth, it can be argued that the type of exposure may indirectly predict growth in men (Lilly 2012).

Responding to the Traumatic Experience: The different ways in which a person may process or engage after a traumatic experience may influence whether PTG comes about. The presence of rumination, sharing negative emotions, positive coping strategies (e.g. spirituality), event centrality, resilience, and growth actions are associated with increased PTG. [16]

Many individuals ruminate extensively about a traumatic experience after it has occurred. In this context, rumination is not necessarily negative and can mean the same thing as cognitive engagement. When this occurs, the individual is investing mental resources into understanding and making sense of their experience. People typically participate in this way to comprehend and explain their experience (Why? How?) and to discover how their experience factors into their perceptions and plans (What does this mean? What now?). While neither is entirely bad, deliberate rather than intrusive rumination can be the most effective at producing growth. [14] [16]

The use of different coping strategies to adjust to a stressor may also influence the development of PTG. As Richard G. Tedeschi and other post-traumatic growth researchers have found, the ability to accept situations that cannot be changed is crucial for adapting to traumatic life events. They call it "acceptance coping", and have determined that coming to terms with reality is a significant predictor of post-traumatic growth. [17] It is also alleged, though currently under further investigation, that opportunity for emotional disclosure can lead to post-traumatic growth though did not significantly reduce post-traumatic stress symptomology. [18]

The Individual's Characteristics: Some personality traits have been found to be associated with increased PTG. These traits include openness, agreeableness, altruistic behaviors, extraversion, conscientiousness, sense of coherence (SOC), sense of purpose, hopefulness, and low neuroticism are associated with PTG. Despite being otherwise undesirable, narcissism is also associated with PTG. These traits may increase an individual's capacity to adapt to traumas, leading to growth. [16]

Social Support: Social support has been found to be a mediator of PTG. [16] Not only are high levels of pre-exposure social support associated with growth, but there is some neurobiological evidence to support the idea that support will modulate a pathological response to stress in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) pathway in the brain (Ozbay 2007). It also benefits a person to have supportive others that can aid in posttraumatic growth by providing a way to craft narratives about the changes that have occurred, and by offering perspectives that can be integrated into schema change. [19] These relationships help develop narratives; narratives of trauma and survival are always important in posttraumatic growth because they forces survivors to confront questions of meaning and how answers to those questions can be reconstructed.

Religion and Spirituality: Spirituality has been shown to highly correlate with post-traumatic growth and in fact, many of the most deeply spiritual beliefs are a result of trauma exposure. [20]

Other Variables:

  • Age: Post-traumatic growth has been studied in children to a lesser extent. A review by Meyerson and colleagues found various relations between social and psychological factors and posttraumatic growth in children and adolescents, but concluded that fundamental questions about its value and function remain. [21]

Interdisciplinary Connections

Personality Psychology & PTG

Historically, personality traits have been depicted as being stable following the age of 30. [22] Since 1994, research findings suggested that personality traits can change in response to life transition events during middle and late adulthood. [23] Life transition events may be related to work, relationships, or health. Moderate amounts of stress were associated with improvements in the traits of mastery and toughness. [24] Individuals experiencing moderate amounts of stress were found to be more confident about their abilities and had a better sense of control over their lives. Further, moderate amounts of stress were also associated with better resilience, which can be defined as successful recovery to baseline following stress. [25] An individual who experienced moderate amounts of stressful events was more likely to develop coping skills, seek support from their environment, and experience more confidence in their ability to overcome adversity. [24]

Post-traumatic growth & Personality psychology

Experiencing a traumatic event can have a transformational role in personality among certain individuals and facilitate growth. [26] For example, individuals who have experienced trauma have been shown to exhibit greater optimism, positive affect, and satisfaction with social support, as well as increases in the number of social supportive resources. [26] Similarly, research reveals personality changes among spouses of terminal cancer patients suggesting such traumatic life transitions facilitated increases in interpersonal orientation, prosocial behaviors, and dependability scores. [27]

The outcome of traumatic events can be negatively impacted by factors occurring during and after the trauma, potentially increasing the risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder, or other mental health difficulties. [28]

Further, characteristics of the trauma and personality dynamics of the individual experiencing the trauma each independently contributed to posttraumatic growth. [29] If the amounts of stress are too low or too overwhelming, a person cannot cope with the situation. Personality dynamics can either facilitate or impede posttraumatic growth, regardless of the impact of traumatic events. [29]

Mixed Findings in Personality Psychology

Research of posttraumatic growth is emerging in the field of personality psychology, with mixed findings. [30] Several researchers examined posttraumatic growth and its associations with the big five personality model. Posttraumatic growth was found to be associated with greater agreeableness, openness, and extraversion. [31] Agreeableness relates to interpersonal behaviors which include trust, altruism, compliance, honesty, and modesty. [32] Individuals who are agreeable are more likely to seek support when needed and to receive it from others. Higher scores on the agreeableness trait can facilitate the development of posttraumatic growth.

Individuals who score high on openness scales are more likely to be curious, open to new experiences, and emotionally responsive to their surroundings. [33] It is hypothesized that following a traumatic event, individuals who score high on openness would more readily reconsider their beliefs and values that may have been altered. [34] Openness to experiences is thus key for facilitating posttraumatic growth. [11] Individuals who score high on extraversion were more likely to adopt more problem-solving strategies, cognitive restructuring, and seek more support from others. [35] Individuals who score high on extraversion use coping strategies that enable posttraumatic growth. [36] Research among veterans and among children of prisoners of war suggested that openness and extraversion contributed to posttraumatic growth. [37] [38]

Research among community samples suggested that openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness contributed to posttraumatic growth. [39] Individuals who score high on conscientiousness tend to be better at self-regulating their internal experience, have better impulse control, and are more likely to seek achievements across various domains. [40] The conscientiousness trait has been associated with better problem-solving and cognitive restructuring. [35] As such, individuals who are conscientious are more likely to better adjust to stressors and exhibit posttraumatic growth.

Other research among bereaved caregivers and among undergraduates indicated that posttraumatic growth was associated with extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. [27] [41] As such, the findings linking the big five personality traits with posttraumatic growth are mixed.

Personality Dynamics & Trauma Types

Recent research is examining the influence of trauma types and personality dynamics on posttraumatic growth. [29] Individuals who aspire to standards and orderliness are more likely to develop posttraumatic growth and better overall mental health. [29] It is hypothesized that such individuals can better process the meaning of hardships as they experience moderate amounts of stress. This tendency can facilitate positive personal growth. On the other hand, it was found that individuals who have trouble in regulating themselves are less likely to develop posttraumatic growth and more likely to develop trauma-spectrum disorders and mood disorders. [29] This is in line with past research that suggested that individuals who scored higher on self-discrepancy were more likely to score higher on neuroticism and exhibit poor coping. [42] Neuroticism relates to an individual's tendency to respond with negative emotions to threat, frustration, or loss. [33] As such, individuals with high neuroticism and self-discrepancy are less likely to develop posttraumatic growth. Research has highlighted the important role that collective processing of emotional experiences has on posttraumatic growth. Those who are more capable of engaging with their emotional experiences due to crisis and trauma, and make meaning of these are more likely to increase in their resilience and community engagement following the disaster. Furthermore, collective processing of these emotional experiences leads to greater individual growth and collective solidarity and belongingness. [43]

Personality Characteristics

Two personality characteristics that may affect the likelihood that people can make positive use of the aftermath of traumatic events that befall them include extraversion and openness to experience. [44] Also, optimists may be better able to focus attention and resources on the most important matters, and disengage from uncontrollable or unsolvable problems. [1] The ability to grieve and gradually accept trauma could also increase the likelihood of growth. [1]

[45] Individual differences in coping strategies set some people on a maladaptive spiral, whereas others proceed on an adaptive spiral. [46] With this in mind, some early success in coping could be a precursor to posttraumatic growth. [46] A person's level of confidence could also play a role in her or his ability to persist into growth or, out of lack of confidence, give up. [1]

Positive Psychology & PTG

Posttraumatic growth can be seen as a form of positive psychology. [47] In the 1990s, the field of psychology began a movement towards understanding positive psychological outcomes after trauma. Researchers initially referred to this phenomenon in number of different ways, "positive life changes", [48] "growing in the aftermath of suffering", [49] and "positive adaptation to trauma". [50] But it was not until Tedeschi and Calhoun created the "Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI)" in 1996 [49] in which the term posttraumatic growth (PTG) was born. Around the same time, a new area of strengths-based psychology emerged.

Positive psychology involves studying positive mental processes aimed at understanding positive psychological outcomes and "healthy" individuals. [51] This framework was intended to serve as an answer to "mental illness" focused psychology. [51] The core ideals of positive psychology are included, but not limited to:

The concept of PTG has been described as a part of the positive psychology movement. [54] Since PTG describes positive outcomes post trauma rather than negative outcomes, it falls under the category of positive psychological changes. Positive psychology intends to lay claim on all capacities of positive mental functioning. [51] So, even though PTG (as a defined concept) was not initially described in the positive psychology framework, it is presently included in positive psychological theories. [55] This is reinforced by the parallels between the core concepts of positive psychology and PTG. [56] This is observable through comparing the 5 domains of the PTGI with the core ideals of positive psychology.

Positive Psychology & Domains of the PTGI

Positive psychological changes and outcomes are defined as a part of positive psychology. [51] PTG is specifically the positive psychological changes post-trauma. [49] The domains of PTG are defined as the different areas of positive psychological changes that are possible post-trauma. [1] The PTGI, a measure designed by Tedeschi and Calhoun in 1996, [49] measures PTG across the following areas or domains:

In 2004, Tedeschi and Calhoun released an updated framework of PTG. [1] The overlaps between positive psychology and posttraumatic growth demonstrate an overwhelming association between these frameworks. [1] [57] However, Tedeschi and Calhoun note that even though these domains describe positive psychological changes post-trauma, the presence of PTG does not necessarily rule out the occurrence of any simultaneous negative post-trauma mental processes nor negative outcomes (such as psychological distress). [1]

Positive Psychology & Clinical Applications

In a clinical setting, PTG is often included as a part of positive psychology in terms of methodology and treatment goals. Positive psychology interventions (PPI) generally include a multidimensional, therapeutic approach in which psychological tests are measurements to track progress. [58] [59] For clinical PPI involving recovery from trauma, there is usually at least one measure of PTG. [58] Most trauma research and clinical intervention focuses on evaluating the negative outcomes post-trauma. [1] But from a positive psychological perspective, a strengths-based approach might be more relevant for clinical intervention aimed at recovery. [60] While PTG has been effectively measured in a number of relevant areas of psychology, [61] it has been especially successful in health psychology. [62]

In the exploration of PTG in health psychology settings (hospitals, long-term care clinics, etc.), well-being (a core ideal of positive psychology [51] ) was linked to increased PTG in patients. [62] PTG is seen more often in health psychology settings when PPI are utilized. [58] While the focus in health psychology settings is to foster resilience, [63] new research indicates that health psychology practitioners, doctors, and nurses should also aim to increase positive psychological outcomes (such as PTG) as a part of their recovery goals. [64] Resilience is also central to positive psychology [65] and is involved with PTG. Resilience has been distinguished as a pathway to PTG, [66] but its exact relationship is currently still being explored. That being said, they are both positive psychological processes with strong ties to positive psychology. [65] [61]

The use of PPI post-trauma is not only effective in increasing PTG, but it has also been shown to reduce negative posttraumatic symptoms. These reductions on posttraumatic stress symptoms and increases in PTG have been demonstrated to be long-lasting. [67] When participants were followed up at 12 months post PPI, not only was the PTG still present, it actually increased over time. [58] [67] PPI targeted at reducing stress have demonstrated promising results across a large number of studies. [68]

Conclusion

Over the last 25 years, PTG has demonstrated its place in the framework of positive psychology in theory and in practice. The theoretical framework put forth by Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi [51] and Tedeschi & Calhoun [49] [1] have substantial overlap and both cite "positive psychological changes". While positive psychology speaks to a general focus on positive aspects of human psychology, PTG speaks specifically to positive psychological change after trauma. This would inherently make PTG a sub-category of positive psychology. [61] [50] PTG has also been referred to in the literature as perceived benefits, positive changes, stress-related growth, and adversarial growth. [61] However, it is made clear that regardless of the terminology, it is based is positive mental changes, which is the essence of positive psychology. [61]

Psycho-Oncology & PTG

The study of those who have experienced cancer has contributed significantly to the understanding of PTG. While more research is needed to establish the prevalence of cancer related PTG, there is mounting evidence that high rates of patients experience some form of positive growth. [69]

Trauma Exposure in Psycho-Oncology

Individuals diagnosed with cancer may encounter a diverse range of stressors across the stages of the experience. Further, what is traumatic differs from person to person. [70] For example, feelings of uncertainty or fear of death are common following a diagnosis. [71] Distress may also arise from physical symptoms from the illness itself or from cancer treatments. The process of contending with cancer often brings about significant life changes such as economic strain or social role reversals. [72] Among survivors, fear of recurrence is common. [71] The loved ones and caregivers of patients may also experience severe stressors which may lead to PTG. [73] [74]

The impact of trauma on this population is evident in both negative and growth outcomes. PTSD is more common among individuals who are diagnosed with cancer than those who have not, and rates of PTSD are higher in those who experience some cancer types (e.g. brain cancer) and treatment types (e.g. chemotherapy) than in others. [72] Cancer type also matters for PTG, as more advanced forms are more strongly associated with growth. [70] Studying cancer patients has shed light on the relationship on the relationship between PTSD and PTG. While some studies have found a correlation between PTSD and PTG among cancer patients, others conclude that they are independent constructs. [70] [69] [75]

Promotive Factors in Psycho-Oncology

There are many variables which are associated with development of PTG for oncology patients such as social support, subjective appraisal of the threat, and positive coping strategies. [75] In cancer patients, hope, optimism, spirituality, and positive coping styles are associated with PTG outcomes. [69] [76]

Limited research has investigated whether psychosocial interventions can support the development of PTG. A recent meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials found that psychosocial interventions for cancer patients, especially mindfulness-based interventions, show promise in facilitating PTG. [77] More research is needed in this area to understand how interventions can impact PTG in oncology populations.

Characterizing PTG Outcomes in Psycho-Oncology

Post-traumatic growth takes on many forms in the lives of cancer patients and survivors. For patients, PTG is often described in three categories. 1) They may identify themselves as having strengths or skills that made them competent in the difficult situation. 2) After emotional growth, they may find changes in their personal relationships such as increased closeness or appreciation. 3) Their experience may lead to a greater appreciation of life or strengthen their spirituality. [69]

Jimmie Holland, a founder in the field of psycho-oncology, provides examples of growth following cancer in her book In The Human Side of Cancer. Holland tells the story of one patient, Jim, whose experience with PTG altered both his perspective on life and his interpersonal relationships. [78] After undergoing radiation for cancer of the vocal cord, Jim found a new appreciation for health and used his experience to motivate his sons to never start smoking. [78] Further, survivors of cancer often discover a new sense of compassion and find new purpose in giving back to others. After surviving osteogenic sarcoma which resulted in the amputation of her leg, Sheila Kussner began giving back by visiting other amputees in hospitals to share support. She later went on to raise millions of dollars for cancer research and establishing the Hope and Cope program at the Montreal Jewish General hospital which provides psychological support to thousands of patients. [78] These examples may fit within the realm of PTG.

Resilience

In general, research in psychology shows that people are resilient overall. For example, Southwick and Charney, in a study of 250 prisoners of war from Vietnam, showed that participants developed much lower rates of depression and PTSD symptoms than expected. [79] Donald Meichenbaum [80] estimated that 60% of North Americans will experience trauma in their lifetime, and of these while no one is unscathed, some 70% show resilience and 30% show harmful effects. [81] Similarly, 68 million women of the 150 million in America will be victimized over their lifetime, but a shocking 10% will suffer insofar as they must seek help from mental health professionals. [82]

In general, traditional psychology's approach to resiliency as exhibited in the studies above is a problem-oriented one, assuming that PTSD is the problem and that resiliency just means to avoid or fix that problem in order to maintain baseline well-being. This type of approach fails to acknowledge any growth that might occur beyond the previously set baseline, however. Positive psychology's idea of thriving attempts to reconcile that failure. A meta-analysis of studies [83] done by Shakespeare-Finch and Lurie-Beck [84] in this area indicates that there is actually an association between PTSD symptoms and posttraumatic growth. The null hypothesis that there is no relationship between the two was rejected for the study. The correlation between the two was significant and was found to be dependent upon the nature of the event and the person's age. For example, survivors of sexual assault show less posttraumatic growth than survivors of natural disaster. Ultimately, however, the meta-analysis serves to show that PTSD and posttraumatic growth are not mutually exclusive ends of a recovery spectrum and that they may actually co-occur during a successful process to thriving. [83]

It is important to note that while aspects of resilience and growth aid an individual's psychological well-being, they are not the same thing. Dr. Richard Tedeschi and Dr. Erika Felix specifically note that resilience suggests bouncing back and returning to one's previous state of being, whereas post-traumatic growth fosters a transformed way of being or understanding for an individual. Often, traumatic or challenging experiences force an individual to re-evaluate core beliefs, values, or behaviors on both cognitive and emotional levels; the idea of post-traumatic growth is therefore rooted in the notion that these beliefs, values, or behaviors come with a new perspective and expectation after the event. Thus, post-traumatic growth centers around the concept of change, whereas resilience suggests the return to previous beliefs, values, or lifestyles.

Thriving

To understand the significance of thriving in the human experience, it is important to understand its role within the context of trauma and its separation from traditional psychology's idea of resilience. Implicit in the idea of thriving and resilience both is the presence of adversity. O'Leary and Ickovics created a four-part diagram of the spectrum of human response to adversity, the possibilities of which include: succumbing to adversity, surviving with diminished quality of life, resiliency (returning to baseline quality of life), and thriving. [85] Thriving includes not only resiliency, but an additional further improvement over the quality of life previous to the adverse event.

Thriving in positive psychology definitely aims to promote growth beyond survival, but it is important to note that some of the theories surrounding the causes and effects of it are more ambiguous. Literature by Carver indicates that the concept of thriving is a difficult one to define objectively. He makes the distinction between physical and psychological thriving, implying that while physical thriving has obvious measurable results, psychological thriving does not as much. This is the origin of much ambiguity surrounding the concept. Carver lists several self-reportable indicators of thriving: greater acceptance of self, change in philosophy, and a change in priorities. These are factors that generally lead a person to feel that they have grown, but obviously are difficult to measure quantitatively. [5]

The dynamic systems approach to thriving attempts to resolve some of the ambiguity in the quantitative definition of thriving, citing thriving as an improvement in adaptability to future trauma based on their model of attractors and attractor basins. [5] This approach suggests that reorganization of behaviors is required to make positive adaptive behavior a more significant attractor basin, which is an area the system shows a tendency toward.

In general, as pointed out by Carver, the idea of thriving seems to be one that is hard to remove from subjective experience. However, work done by Meichenbaum to create his Posttraumatic Growth Inventory helps to set forth a more measurable map of thriving. The five fields of posttraumatic growth that Meichenbaum outlined include: relating to others, new possibilities, personal strength, spiritual change, and appreciation for life. Though literature that addresses "thriving" specifically is sparse, there is much research in the five areas Meichenbaum cites as facilitating thriving, all of which supports the idea that growth after adversity is a viable and significant possibility for human well-being.

Positive disintegration

The theory of positive disintegration [86] by Kazimierz Dąbrowski is a theory that postulates that symptoms such as psychological tension and anxiety could be signs that a person might be in positive disintegration.The theory proposes that this can happen when an individual rejects previously adopted values (relating to their physical survival and their place in society), and adopts new values that are based on the higher possible version of who they can be. Rather than seeing disintegration as a negative state, the theory proposes that is a transient state which allows an individual to grow towards their personality ideal. The theory stipulates that individuals who have a high development potential (i.e. those with overexcitabilities), have a higher chance of re-integrating at a higher level of development, after disintegration. Scholarly work is needed to ascertain whether disintegrative processes, as specified by the theory, are traumatic, and whether reaching higher integration, e.g. Level IV (directed multilevel disintegration) or V (secondary integration), can be equated to posttraumatic growth.

Aspects

Another attempt at quantitatively charting the concept of thriving is via the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. [87] The inventory has 21 items and is designed to measure the extent to which one experiences personal growth after adversity. The inventory includes elements from five key areas: relating to others, new possibilities, personal strength, spiritual change, and appreciation for life. [88] These five categories are reminiscent of the subjective experiences Carver struggled to quantify in his own literature on thriving, but are imposed onto scales to maintain measurability. When considering the idea of thriving from the five-point approach, it is easier to place more research from psychology within the context of thriving. Additionally, a short form version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory has been created with only 10 items, selecting two questions for each of the five subscales. [89] [90] Studies have been conducted to better understand the validity of this scale and some have found that self-reported measures of posttraumatic growth are unreliable. Frazier et al. (2009) reported that further improvement could be made to this inventory to better capture actual change. [91]

One of the key facets of posttraumatic growth set forth by Meichenbaum is relating to others. Accordingly, much work has been done to indicate that social support resources are extremely important to the facilitation of thriving. House, Cohen, and their colleagues indicate that perception of adequate social support is associated with improved adaptive tendency. This idea of better adaptive tendency is central to thriving in that it results in an improved approach to future adversity. Similarly, Hazan and Shaver reason that social support provides a solid base of security for human endeavor. The idea of human endeavor here is echoed in another of Meichenbaum's facets of posttraumatic growth, new possibilities, the idea being that a person's confidence to "endeavor" in the face of novelty is a sign of thriving. [5]

Concurrent with a third facet of Meichenbaum's posttraumatic growth, personal strength, a meta analysis of six qualitative studies done by Finfgeld focuses on courage as a path to thriving. Evidence from the analysis indicates that the ability to be courageous includes acceptance of reality, problem-solving, and determination. This not only directly supports the significance of personal strength in thriving, but can also be drawn to Meichenbaum's concept of "new possibilities" through the idea that determination and adaptive problem-solving aid in constructively confronting new possibilities. Besides this, it was found in Finfgeld's study that courage is promoted and sustained by intra- and interpersonal forces, further supporting Meichenbaum's concept of "relating to others" and its effect on thriving. [92]

On Meichenbaum's idea of appreciation for life, research done by Tyson on a sample of people 2–5 years into grieving processing reveals the importance of creating meaning. The studies show that coping with bereavement optimally does not only involve just "getting over it and moving on", but should also include creating meaning to facilitate the best recovery. The study showed that stories and creative forms of expression increase growth following bereavement. [93] This evidence is supported strongly by work done by Michael and Cooper focused on facets of bereavement that facilitate growth including "the age of the bereaved", "social support", "time since death", "religion", and "active cognitive coping strategies". [5] The idea of coping strategies is echoed through the importance thriving places on improving adaptability. The significance of social support to growth found by Michael and Cooper clearly supports Meichenbaum's concept of "relating to others". Similarly, the significance of religion echoes Meichenbaum's "spiritual change" facet of posttraumatic growth.

Comparison-based thinking has been shown to aid in the development of posttraumatic growth, in which a person considers the positive differences between their current lives and their life during a traumatic event. Increases in empathy and desire to help others have been observed in trauma survivors as a form of posttraumatic growth. Storytelling with fellow community members, particularly those who have been through similar trauma, can help form a sense of community and encourage self-reflection. [94]

Criticisms & Concerns

While posttraumatic growth is commonly self-reported by people from different cultures across the world, [95] concerns have been raised on the basis that objectively measurable evidence of posttraumatic growth is limited. This has led some to question whether posttraumatic growth is real or illusory. [96] [97] [98] [99] However, biological research is finding real differences at the level of gene expression [100] and brain activity. [101]

The concept that posttraumatic growth can be illusory was originally suggested by Andreas Maercker and Tanja Zoellner, who suggested that perceptions of PTG manifest themselves in two sides: a transformative, constructive side, and an illusory, self-deceptive side. This self-deception side is used as a mechanism of coping with, or making sense of, a traumatic event in one's life, rather than proof of an improved psychological state. [102] Additionally, Adriel Boals suggests a third branch of PTG: perceived PTG, under which illusory and "genuine" PTG fall . Boals asserts that those with perceived PTG often misreport genuine PTG during self-reports, as they are instead experiencing illusory PTG. Indeed, Boals claims that illusory PTG is more common in individuals with perceived PTG, than is genuine PTG. [103] Furthermore, numerous additional studies have shown that PTG is positively associated with posttraumatic stress, which authors such as Boals suggest is a contradiction of the original definition of PTG. [104] [83]

Post-traumatic growth
MeSH D000078002

See also

Related Research Articles

Neurosis is a term mainly used today by followers of Freudian thinking to describe mental disorders caused by past anxiety, often that has been repressed. In recent history, the term has been used to refer to anxiety-related conditions more generally.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a person's life or well-being. Symptoms may include disturbing thoughts, feelings, or dreams related to the events, mental or physical distress to trauma-related cues, attempts to avoid trauma-related cues, alterations in the way a person thinks and feels, and an increase in the fight-or-flight response. These symptoms last for more than a month after the event. Young children are less likely to show distress, but instead may express their memories through play. A person with PTSD is at a higher risk of suicide and intentional self-harm.

Dissociation is a concept that has been developed over time and which concerns a wide array of experiences, ranging from a mild emotional detachment from the immediate surroundings, to a more severe disconnection from physical and emotional experiences. The major characteristic of all dissociative phenomena involves a detachment from reality, rather than a false perception of reality as in psychosis.

Psychological trauma is an emotional response caused by severe distressing events that are outside the normal range of human experiences. It must be understood by the affected person as directly threatening the affected person or their loved ones with death, severe bodily injury, or sexual violence; indirect exposure, such as from watching television news, may be extremely distressing and can produce an involuntary and possibly overwhelming physiological stress response, but does not produce trauma per se. Examples include violence, rape, or a terrorist attack.

Complex post-traumatic stress disorder is a stress-related mental disorder generally occurring in response to complex traumas, i.e., commonly prolonged or repetitive exposures to a series of traumatic events, within which individuals perceive little or no chance to escape.

Psychological resilience is the ability to cope mentally and emotionally with a crisis, or to return to pre-crisis status quickly.

Childhood trauma is often described as serious adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Children may go through a range of experiences that classify as psychological trauma; these might include neglect, abandonment, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and physical abuse, witnessing abuse of a sibling or parent, or having a mentally ill parent. These events have profound psychological, physiological, and sociological impacts and can have negative, lasting effects on health and well-being such as unsocial behaviors, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and sleep disturbances. Similarly, children whose mothers have experienced traumatic or stressful events during pregnancy have an increased risk of mental health disorders and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grief counseling</span> Therapy for responses to loss

Grief counseling is a form of psychotherapy that aims to help people cope with the physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and cognitive responses to loss. These experiences are commonly thought to be brought on by a loved person's death, but may more broadly be understood as shaped by any significant life-altering loss.

Memory and trauma is the deleterious effects that physical or psychological trauma has on memory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Bonanno</span>

George A. Bonanno is a professor of clinical psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University, U.S. He is responsible for introducing the controversial idea of resilience to the study of loss and trauma. He is known as a pioneering researcher in the field of bereavement and trauma. The New York Times on February 15, 2011, stated that the current science of bereavement has been "driven primarily" by Bonanno. Scientific American summarized a main finding of his work, "The ability to rebound remains the norm throughout adult life." Bonanno has been honored with several major awards for his work.

Vicarious trauma (VT) is a term invented by Irene Lisa McCann and Laurie Anne Pearlman that is used to describe how work with traumatized clients affects trauma therapists. The phenomenon had been known as secondary traumatic stress, a term coined by Charles Figley. In vicarious trauma, the therapist experiences a profound worldview change and is permanently altered by empathetic bonding with a client. This change is thought to have three requirements: empathic engagement and exposure to graphic, traumatizing material; exposure to human cruelty; and the reenactment of trauma in therapy. This can produce changes in a therapist's spirituality, worldview, and self-identity.

Psychological hardiness, alternatively referred to as personality hardiness or cognitive hardiness in the literature, is a personality style first introduced by Suzanne C. Kobasa in 1979. Kobasa described a pattern of personality characteristics that distinguished managers and executives who remained healthy under life stress, as compared to those who developed health problems. In the following years, the concept of hardiness was further elaborated in a book and a series of research reports by Salvatore Maddi, Kobasa and their graduate students at the University of Chicago.

PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder, is a psychiatric disorder characterised by intrusive thoughts and memories, dreams or flashbacks of the event; avoidance of people, places and activities that remind the individual of the event; ongoing negative beliefs about oneself or the world, mood changes and persistent feelings of anger, guilt or fear; alterations in arousal such as increased irritability, angry outbursts, being hypervigilant, or having difficulty with concentration and sleep.

Childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder is a psychological disorder that can develop in women who have recently given birth. This disorder can also affect men or partners who have observed a difficult birth. Its symptoms are not distinct from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It may also be called post-traumatic stress disorder following childbirth (PTSD-FC).

One of the most common ways that people cope with trauma is through the comfort found in religious or spiritual practices. Psychologists of religion have performed multiple studies to measure the positive and negative effects of this coping style. Leading researchers have split religious coping into two categories: positive religious coping and negative religious coping. Individuals who use positive religious coping are likely to seek spiritual support and look for meaning in a traumatic situation. Negative religious coping expresses conflict, question, and doubt regarding issues of God and faith.

Emotional approach coping is a psychological construct that involves the use of emotional processing and emotional expression in response to a stressful situation. As opposed to emotional avoidance, in which emotions are experienced as a negative, undesired reaction to a stressful situation, emotional approach coping involves the conscious use of emotional expression and processing to better deal with a stressful situation. The construct was developed to explain an inconsistency in the stress and coping literature: emotion-focused coping was associated with largely maladaptive outcomes while emotional processing and expression was demonstrated to be beneficial.

Andreas Maercker is a German clinical psychologist and international expert in traumatic stress-related mental disorders who works in Switzerland. He also contributed to lifespan and sociocultural aspects of trauma sequelae, e.g. the Janus-Face model of posttraumatic growth. Recently, he has been increasingly engaged in cultural clinical psychology.

Trauma-sensitive yoga is yoga as exercise, adapted from 2002 onwards for work with individuals affected by psychological trauma. Its goal is to help trauma survivors to develop a greater sense of mind-body connection, to ease their physiological experiences of trauma, to gain a greater sense of ownership over their bodies, and to augment their overall well-being. However, a 2019 systematic review found that the studies to date were not sufficiently robustly designed to provide strong evidence of yoga's effectiveness as a therapy; it called for further research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Post-traumatic stress disorder and substance use disorders</span> Association of PTSD and substance dependencies

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can affect about 3.6% of the U.S. population each year, and 6.8% of the U.S. population over a lifetime. 8.4% of people in the U.S. are diagnosed with substance use disorders (SUD). Of those with a diagnosis of PTSD, a co-occurring, or comorbid diagnosis of a SUD is present in 20–35% of that clinical population.

In psychology, social constraints can be defined as "any social condition that causes a trauma survivor to feel unsupported, misunderstood, or otherwise alienated from their social network when they are seeking social support or attempting to express trauma-related thoughts, feelings, or concerns." Social constraints are most commonly defined as negative social interactions which make it difficult for an individual to speak about their traumatic experiences. The term is associated with the social-cognitive processing model, which is a psychological model describing ways in which individuals cope and come to terms with trauma they have experienced. Social constraints have been studied in populations of bereaved mothers, individuals diagnosed with cancer, and suicide-bereaved individuals. There is evidence of social constraints having negative effects on mental health. They have been linked to increased depressive symptoms as well as post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in individuals who have experienced traumatic events. There seems to be a positive association between social constraints and negative cognitions related to traumatic events. Social constraints have also been linked to difficulties in coping with illness in people who have been diagnosed with terminal illness such as cancer.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Tedeshi, R.G., & Calhoun, L.G. (2004). Posttraumatic Growth: Conceptual Foundation and Empirical Evidence. Philadelphia, PA: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  2. 1 2 3 Tedeschi R, Shakespeare-Finch J, Taku K, Calhoun L (2018). Posttraumatic growth: Theory, research and applications. Taylor & Francis. doi:10.4324/9781315527451. ISBN   978-1-315-52745-1. S2CID   149689169.
  3. 1 2 Tedeschi, R.G., & Calhoun, L.G. (1995). Trauma and Transformation: Growing in the Aftermath of Suffering. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  4. ↑ Abdu'l-Bahá on Suffering and Tests, Baháʼí International Community, accessed Jul 14 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Carver C (2010). "Resilience and Thriving: Issues, Models, and Linkages". Journal of Social Issues. 54 (2): 245–266. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1998.tb01217.x.
  6. ↑ Michaela Haas, "Bouncing Forward: Transforming Bad Breaks into Breakthroughs," Atria/Enliven, 2015
  7. ↑ Michaela Haas. "What is Posttraumatic Growth?".
  8. 1 2 Park CL (March 2010). "Making sense of the meaning literature: an integrative review of meaning making and its effects on adjustment to stressful life events". Psychological Bulletin. 136 (2): 257–301. doi:10.1037/a0018301. PMID   20192563. S2CID   23947153.
  9. 1 2 Linley PA, Joseph S (February 2004). "Positive change following trauma and adversity: a review". Journal of Traumatic Stress. 17 (1): 11–21. doi:10.1023/b:jots.0000014671.27856.7e. PMID   15027788. S2CID   19585205.
  10. 1 2 3 Joseph S, Linley PA (2005). "Positive Adjustment to Threatening Events: An Organismic Valuing Theory of Growth Through Adversity". Review of General Psychology. 9 (3): 262–280. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.9.3.262. S2CID   145267293.
  11. 1 2 "COMMENTARIES on "Posttraumatic Growth: Conceptual Foundations and Empirical Evidence"". Psychological Inquiry. 15 (1): 19–92. January 2004. doi:10.1207/s15327965pli1501_02. ISSN   1047-840X. S2CID   219731112.
  12. ↑ Calhoun LG, Tedeschi RG, eds. (2006). Handbook of posttraumatic growth: research and practice. Mahwah, N.J: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ISBN   978-0-8058-5196-0. OCLC   62078285.
  13. ↑ Koutrouli N, Anagnostopoulos F, Potamianos G (February 2012). "Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Posttraumatic Growth in Breast Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review". Women & Health. 52 (5): 503–516. doi:10.1080/03630242.2012.679337. ISSN   0363-0242. PMID   22747186.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Calhoun L, Tedeschi R (2014). Handbook of Posttraumatic Growth: Research and Practice (1st ed.). ISBN   978-1-315-80559-7.
  15. ↑ Iversen TN, Christiansen DM, Elklit A (December 2011). "Forskellige prædiktorer for posttraumatisk vækst på mikro-, meso-og makroniveau". Psyke & Logos. 32 (2): 28. doi: 10.7146/pl.v32i2.8726 . S2CID   145195890.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Henson C, Truchot D, Canevello A (November 2021). "What promotes post traumatic growth? A systematic review". European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation. 5 (4): 100195. doi:10.1016/j.ejtd.2020.100195. ISSN   2468-7499.
  17. ↑ Michaela Haas, Bouncing Forward:Transforming Bad Breaks into Breakthroughs, Atria/Enliven, 2015, ISBN   150111512X
  18. ↑ Slavin-Spenny OM, Cohen JL, Oberleitner LM, Lumley MA (October 2011). "The effects of different methods of emotional disclosure: differentiating post-traumatic growth from stress symptoms". Journal of Clinical Psychology. 67 (10): 993–1007. doi:10.1002/jclp.20750. ISSN   0021-9762. PMC   3525957 . PMID   21905025.
  19. ↑ Neimeyer RA (2001). Meaning Reconstruction and the Experience of Loss. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
  20. ↑ O'Rourke JJ, Tallman BA, Altmaier EM (November 2008). "Measuring post-traumatic changes in spirituality/religiosity". Mental Health, Religion & Culture. 11 (7): 719–728. doi:10.1080/13674670801993336. ISSN   1367-4676.
  21. ↑ Meyerson DA, Grant KE, Carter JS, Kilmer RP (August 2011). "Posttraumatic growth among children and adolescents: a systematic review". Clinical Psychology Review. 31 (6): 949–964. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2011.06.003. PMID   21718663.
  22. ↑ Terracciano A, Costa PT, McCrae RR (August 2006). "Personality plasticity after age 30". Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin. 32 (8): 999–1009. doi:10.1177/0146167206288599. PMC   2680603 . PMID   16861305.
  23. ↑ Roberts BW, Mroczek D (February 2008). "Personality Trait Change in Adulthood". Current Directions in Psychological Science. 17 (1): 31–35. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8721.2008.00543.x. PMC   2743415 . PMID   19756219.
  24. 1 2 Seery MD, Holman EA, Silver RC (December 2010). "Whatever does not kill us: cumulative lifetime adversity, vulnerability, and resilience". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 99 (6): 1025–1041. doi:10.1037/a0021344. PMID   20939649. S2CID   6597081.
  25. ↑ Seery MD (December 2011). "Resilience". Current Directions in Psychological Science. 20 (6): 390–394. doi:10.1177/0963721411424740. ISSN   0963-7214. S2CID   220318308.
  26. 1 2 Park CL, Cohen LH, Murch RL (March 1996). "Assessment and prediction of stress-related growth". Journal of Personality. 64 (1): 71–105. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.464.7125 . doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1996.tb00815.x. PMID   8656319.
  27. 1 2 Hoerger M, Chapman BP, Prigerson HG, Fagerlin A, Mohile SG, Epstein RM, et al. (August 2014). "Personality Change Pre- to Post- Loss in Spousal Caregivers of Patients with Terminal Lung Cancer". Social Psychological and Personality Science. 5 (6): 722–729. doi:10.1177/1948550614524448. PMC   4299658 . PMID   25614779.
  28. ↑ Brewin CR, Andrews B, Valentine JD (October 2000). "Meta-analysis of risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder in trauma-exposed adults". Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 68 (5): 748–766. doi:10.1037/0022-006x.68.5.748. PMID   11068961. S2CID   13749007.
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 Shuwiekh H, Kira IA, Ashby JS (May 2018). "What are the personality and trauma dynamics that contribute to posttraumatic growth?". International Journal of Stress Management. 25 (2): 181–194. doi:10.1037/str0000054. ISSN   1573-3424.
  30. ↑ Jayawickreme E, Blackie LE (July 2014). "Post-traumatic Growth as Positive Personality Change: Evidence, Controversies and Future Directions" (PDF). European Journal of Personality. 28 (4): 312–331. doi:10.1002/per.1963. ISSN   0890-2070. S2CID   142603170. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-07-19. Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  31. ↑ Linley PA, Joseph S (February 2004). "Positive change following trauma and adversity: a review". Journal of Traumatic Stress. 17 (1): 11–21. doi:10.1023/B:JOTS.0000014671.27856.7e. PMID   15027788. S2CID   19585205.
  32. ↑ Costa PT, McCrae RR, Dye DA (1991). "Facet Scales for Agreeableness and Conscientiousness: A Revision of the NEO Personality Inventory". Personality and Individual Differences. 12 (9): 887–898. doi:10.1016/0191-8869(91)90177-d. ISSN   0191-8869.
  33. 1 2 Costa PT, McCrae RR (1992). "Normal personality assessment in clinical practice: The NEO Personality Inventory". Psychological Assessment. 4 (1): 5–13. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.4.1.5. ISSN   1040-3590.
  34. ↑ Calhoun LG, Tedeschi RG, Cann A, Hanks EA (2010-09-01). "Positive Outcomes Following Bereavement: Paths to Posttraumatic Growth". Psychologica Belgica. 50 (1–2): 125. doi: 10.5334/pb-50-1-2-125 . ISSN   2054-670X.
  35. 1 2 Connor-Smith JK, Flachsbart C (December 2007). "Relations between personality and coping: a meta-analysis". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 93 (6): 1080–1107. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.452.1704 . doi:10.1037/0022-3514.93.6.1080. PMID   18072856.
  36. ↑ "The Effects of Personality, Social Support and Religiosity on Posttraumatic Growth". www.massey.ac.nz. Retrieved 2019-01-09.
  37. ↑ Staugaard SR, Johannessen KB, Thomsen YD, Bertelsen M, Berntsen D (April 2015). "Centrality of positive and negative deployment memories predicts posttraumatic growth in danish veterans" (PDF). Journal of Clinical Psychology. 71 (4): 362–377. doi:10.1002/jclp.22142. PMID   25522344.
  38. ↑ Zerach G (July 2015). "Secondary growth among former prisoners of war's adult children: The result of exposure to stress, secondary traumatization, or personality traits?". Psychological Trauma. 7 (4): 313–323. doi:10.1037/tra0000009. PMID   26147516.
  39. ↑ Karanci AN, Işıklı S, Aker AT, Gül Eİ, Erkan BB, Ozkol H, et al. (2012-06-05). "Personality, posttraumatic stress and trauma type: factors contributing to posttraumatic growth and its domains in a Turkish community sample". European Journal of Psychotraumatology. 3 (1): 17303. doi:10.3402/ejpt.v3i0.17303. PMC   3402104 . PMID   22893832.
  40. ↑ McCrae RR, John OP (June 1992). "An introduction to the five-factor model and its applications". Journal of Personality. 60 (2): 175–215. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.470.4858 . doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1992.tb00970.x. PMID   1635039. S2CID   10596836.
  41. ↑ Owens GP (October 2016). "Predictors of Posttraumatic Growth and Posttraumatic Stress Symptom Severity in Undergraduates Reporting Potentially Traumatic Events". Journal of Clinical Psychology. 72 (10): 1064–1076. doi:10.1002/jclp.22309. PMID   27062393.
  42. ↑ Rice KG, Ashby JS, Slaney RB (December 2007). "Perfectionism and the five-factor model of personality". Assessment. 14 (4): 385–398. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.1017.2604 . doi:10.1177/1073191107303217. PMID   17986656. S2CID   35108731.
  43. ↑ Kieft J, Bendell J (2021). "The responsibility of communicating difficult truths about climate influenced societal disruption and collapse: an introduction to psychological research". Institute for Leadership and Sustainability (IFLAS) Occasional Papers. 7: 1–39.
  44. ↑ Costa PT, McCrae RR (1992). "Normal Personality Assessment In Clinical Practice: The NEW Personality Inventory". Psychological Assessment. 4: 5–13. doi:10.1037/1040-3590.4.1.5.
  45. ↑ McAdams DP (1993). The Stories We Live By: Personal Myths and the Making of the Self. New York: Morrow.
  46. 1 2 Aldwin CM (1994). Stress, Coping, and Development . New York: Guilford. ISBN   978-0-89862-261-4.
  47. ↑ "What is PTG: The Science of Post-Traumatic Growth". 2010-01-16.
  48. ↑ Frazier P, Tashiro T, Berman M, Steger M, Long J (February 2004). "Correlates of levels and patterns of positive life changes following sexual assault". Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 72 (1): 19–30. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.72.1.19. PMID   14756611.
  49. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Tedeschi RG, Calhoun LG (1996). "The posttraumatic growth inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma". Journal of Traumatic Stress. 9 (3): 455–471. doi:10.1002/jts.2490090305. ISSN   1573-6598. PMID   8827649.
  50. 1 2 Linley PA (2003). "Positive adaptation to trauma: Wisdom as both process and outcome". Journal of Traumatic Stress. 16 (6): 601–610. doi:10.1023/B:JOTS.0000004086.64509.09. ISSN   1573-6598. PMID   14690359. S2CID   17676581.
  51. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Seligman ME, Csikszentmihalyi M (2000). "Positive psychology: An introduction". American Psychologist. 55 (1): 5–14. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.5. hdl: 10983/26120 . ISSN   1935-990X. PMID   11392865. S2CID   14783574.
  52. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Leak GK, Deneve KM, Greteman AJ (2007-01-01). "The relationship between spirituality, assessed through self-transcendent goal strivings, and positive psychological attributes". Research in the Social Scientific Study of Religion. 18: 263–279. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004158511.i-301.102. ISBN   978-90-474-1964-8.
  53. ↑ Seligman ME (2004-04-01). "Can happiness be taught?". Daedalus. 133 (2): 80–87. doi: 10.1162/001152604323049424 . ISSN   0011-5266. S2CID   57570511.
  54. ↑ Linley A (2000). "Transforming psychology... the example of trauma". Psychologist. 13 (7): 353. ProQuest   211816402 – via ProQuest.
  55. ↑ Magne H, Jaafari N, Voyer M (April 2021). "[Post-traumatic growth: Some conceptual considerations]". L'Encéphale (in French). 47 (2): 143–150. doi:10.1016/j.encep.2020.05.021. PMID   32928525. S2CID   225191892.
  56. ↑ Linley PA, Joseph S (April 2005). "The human capacity for growth through adversity". The American Psychologist. 60 (3): 262–264. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.60.3.262b. PMID   15796685.
  57. ↑ Linley A (2003). "Trauma and personal growth". The Psychologist. 16 (3): 135. ProQuest   211757735 – via ProQuest.
  58. 1 2 3 4 Látos M, Lázár G, Ondrik Z, Szederkényi E, Hódi Z, Horváth Z, et al. (2021-08-16). "Positive Psychology Intervention to Improve Recovery after Renal Transplantation: A Randomized Controlled Trial". Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy. 52: 35–44. doi:10.1007/s10879-021-09515-6. ISSN   1573-3564. S2CID   237055946.
  59. ↑ Waters L, Cameron K, Nelson-Coffey SK, Crone DL, Kern ML, Lomas T, et al. (2021-07-13). "Collective wellbeing and posttraumatic growth during COVID-19: how positive psychology can help families, schools, workplaces and marginalized communities". The Journal of Positive Psychology. 17 (6): 761–789. doi:10.1080/17439760.2021.1940251. ISSN   1743-9760. S2CID   236154623.
  60. ↑ Joseph S (2009). "Growth Following Adversity: Positive Psychological Perspectives on Posttraumatic Stress". Psychological Topics. 18 (2): 335–343.
  61. 1 2 3 4 5 Joseph & Linley (2008). "Trauma, Recovery, and Growth: Positive Psychological Perspectives on Posttraumatic Stress". Wiley.
  62. 1 2 Barley E, Lawson V (August 2016). "Using health psychology to help patients: promoting wellbeing" (PDF). British Journal of Nursing. 25 (15): 852–855. doi:10.12968/bjon.2016.25.15.852. PMID   27523757.
  63. ↑ Chan IW, Lai JC, Wong KW (2006-06-01). "Resilience is associated with better recovery in Chinese people diagnosed with coronary heart disease". Psychology & Health. 21 (3): 335–349. doi:10.1080/14768320500215137. ISSN   0887-0446. S2CID   144183335.
  64. ↑ Hoogland AI, Jim HS, Schoenberg NE, Watkins JF, Rowles GD (May–June 2021). "Positive Psychological Change Following a Cancer Diagnosis in Old Age: A Mixed-Methods Study". Cancer Nursing. 44 (3): 190–196. doi:10.1097/NCC.0000000000000766. PMC   7274906 . PMID   31833920.
  65. 1 2 Seligman M (2011). "Building Resilience". Harvard Business Review. 89 (4): 100–138. PMID   21510522.
  66. ↑ Gori A, Topino E, Sette A, Cramer H (January 2021). "Pathways to post-traumatic growth in cancer patients: moderated mediation and single mediation analyses with resilience, personality, and coping strategies". Journal of Affective Disorders. 279: 692–700. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2020.10.044. PMID   33190121. S2CID   226972964.
  67. 1 2 Ochoa C, Casellas-Grau A, Vives J, Font A, Borràs JM (2017-01-01). "Positive psychotherapy for distressed cancer survivors: Posttraumatic growth facilitation reduces posttraumatic stress". International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology. 17 (1): 28–37. doi:10.1016/j.ijchp.2016.09.002. PMC   6236322 . PMID   30487878.
  68. ↑ Ferrandez S, Soubelet A, Vankenhove L (August 2021). "Positive interventions for stress-related difficulties: A systematic review of randomized and non-randomized trials". Stress and Health. 38 (2): 210–221. doi:10.1002/smi.3096. PMID   34453863.
  69. 1 2 3 4 Shand LK, Cowlishaw S, Brooker JE, Burney S, Ricciardelli LA (June 2015). "Correlates of post-traumatic stress symptoms and growth in cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis: Correlates of PTSS and PTG". Psycho-Oncology. 24 (6): 624–634. doi:10.1002/pon.3719. PMID   25393527.
  70. 1 2 3 Marziliano A, Tuman M, Moyer A (April 2020). "The relationship between post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic growth in cancer patients and survivors: A systematic review and meta-analysis". Psycho-Oncology. 29 (4): 604–616. doi:10.1002/pon.5314. ISSN   1057-9249. PMID   31834657.
  71. 1 2 Curran L, Sharpe L, Butow P (2017-08-01). "Anxiety in the context of cancer: A systematic review and development of an integrated model". Clinical Psychology Review. 56: 40–54. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2017.06.003. ISSN   0272-7358.
  72. 1 2 Swartzman S, Booth JN, Munro A, Sani F (April 2017). "Posttraumatic stress disorder after cancer diagnosis in adults: A meta-analysis: Swartzman et al". Depression and Anxiety. 34 (4): 327–339. doi:10.1002/da.22542. PMID   27466972.
  73. ↑ Jansen L, Dauphin S, van den Akker M, De Burghgraeve T, Schoenmakers B, Buntinx F (November 2018). "Prevalence and predictors of psychosocial problems in informal caregivers of older cancer survivors - A systematic review: Still major gaps in current research". European Journal of Cancer Care. 27 (6): e12899. doi:10.1111/ecc.12899. PMID   30168877.
  74. ↑ Shokri M, Tarjoman A, Borji M, Solaimanizadeh L (November 2020). "Investigating psychological problems in caregiver of pediatrics with cancer: A systematic review". Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing. 33 (4): 229–238. doi:10.1111/jcap.12269. ISSN   1073-6077. PMID   32275101.
  75. 1 2 Koutrouli N, Anagnostopoulos F, Potamianos G (July 2012). "Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Posttraumatic Growth in Breast Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review". Women & Health. 52 (5): 503–516. doi:10.1080/03630242.2012.679337. ISSN   0363-0242. PMID   22747186.
  76. ↑ Casellas-Grau A, Ochoa C, Ruini C (December 2017). "Psychological and clinical correlates of posttraumatic growth in cancer: A systematic and critical review". Psycho-Oncology. 26 (12): 2007–2018. doi:10.1002/pon.4426. hdl: 11585/603635 . ISSN   1057-9249. PMID   28317221.
  77. ↑ Li J, Peng X, Su Y, He Y, Zhang S, Hu X (October 2020). "Effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for posttraumatic growth in patients with cancer: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials". European Journal of Oncology Nursing. 48: 101798. doi:10.1016/j.ejon.2020.101798. ISSN   1462-3889. PMID   32688246.
  78. 1 2 3 Holland JC, Lewis S (2001). The human side of cancer (1st ed.). New York: Quill ; HarperCollins. ISBN   978-0-06-093042-4.
  79. ↑ Southwick SM, Charney DS (October 2012). "The science of resilience: implications for the prevention and treatment of depression". Science. 338 (6103): 79–82. Bibcode:2012Sci...338...79S. doi:10.1126/science.1222942. PMID   23042887. S2CID   40958656.
  80. ↑ "Seven Questions for Donald Meichenbaum".
  81. ↑ Roadmap to Resilience, 2012
  82. ↑ Tan S (2013). "Resilience and posttraumatic growth: Empirical evidence and clinical applications from a christian perspective". Journal of Psychology and Christianity. 32 (4): 358–364.
  83. 1 2 3 Shakespeare-Finch J, Lurie-Beck J (March 2014). "A meta-analytic clarification of the relationship between posttraumatic growth and symptoms of posttraumatic distress disorder" (PDF). Journal of Anxiety Disorders. 28 (2): 223–229. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2013.10.005. PMID   24291397.
  84. ↑ Browse By Person: Shakespeare-Finch, Jane
  85. ↑ O'Leary VE, Ickovics JR (1995). "Resilience and thriving in response to challenge: an opportunity for a paradigm shift in women's health". Women's Health. 1 (2): 121–142. PMID   9373376.
  86. ↑ Schläppy ML (2019). "Understanding Mental Health Through the Theory of Positive Disintegration: A Visual Aid". Frontiers in Psychology. 10: 1291. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01291 . PMC   6558145 . PMID   31214091.
  87. ↑ Tedeschi RG, Calhoun LG (July 1996). "The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory: measuring the positive legacy of trauma". Journal of Traumatic Stress. 9 (3): 455–471. doi:10.1002/jts.2490090305. PMID   8827649.
  88. ↑ Meichenbaum D, Calhoun LG, Tedeschi RG (2006). Handbook of posttraumatic growth: Research and practice. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. pp. 355–368.
  89. ↑ Cann A, Calhoun LG, Tedeschi RG, Taku K, Vishnevsky T, Triplett KN, et al. (March 2010). "A short form of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory". Anxiety, Stress, and Coping. 23 (2): 127–137. doi:10.1080/10615800903094273. PMID   19582640. S2CID   7854444.
  90. ↑ Kaur N, Porter B, LeardMann CA, Tobin LE, Lemus H, Luxton DD (April 2017). "Evaluation of a modified version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory-Short Form". BMC Medical Research Methodology. 17 (1): 69. doi: 10.1186/s12874-017-0344-2 . PMC   5399389 . PMID   28427350.
  91. ↑ Frazier P, Tennen H, Gavian M, Park C, Tomich P, Tashiro T (July 2009). "Does self-reported posttraumatic growth reflect genuine positive change?". Psychological Science. 20 (7): 912–919. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02381.x. PMID   19515115. S2CID   13243589.
  92. ↑ Finfgeld DL (November 1999). "Courage as a process of pushing beyond the struggle". Qualitative Health Research. 9 (6): 803–814. doi:10.1177/104973299129122298. PMID   10662260. S2CID   21043932.
  93. ↑ Tyson J (2013). "Turning a tragedy into a tribute: A literature review of creating meaning after loss of a loved one". Illness, Crisis, & Loss. 21 (4): 325–340. doi:10.2190/IL.21.4.e. S2CID   147024690.
  94. ↑ Sultani G, Heinsch M, Wilson J, Pallas P, Tickner C, Kay-Lambkin F (January 2024). "'Now I Have Dreams in Place of the Nightmares': An Updated Systematic Review of Post-Traumatic Growth Among Refugee Populations". Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. 25 (1): 795–812. doi:10.1177/15248380231163641. ISSN   1524-8380. PMC   10666490 . PMID   37097092.
  95. ↑ Taku K, Tedeschi RG, Shakespeare-Finch J, Krosch D, David G, Kehl D, et al. (2021). "Posttraumatic growth (PTG) and posttraumatic depreciation (PTD) across ten countries: Global validation of the PTG-PTD theoretical model". Personality and Individual Differences. 169: 110222. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2020.110222. hdl: 10400.12/7834 . S2CID   225535766.
  96. ↑ "The Trouble with Post-Traumatic Growth".
  97. ↑ Frazier P, Tennen H, Gavian M, Park C, Tomich P, Tashiro T (July 2009). "Does self-reported posttraumatic growth reflect genuine positive change?". Psychological Science. 20 (7). SAGE Publications: 912–919. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02381.x. PMID   19515115. S2CID   13243589.
  98. ↑ "APA PsycNet".
  99. ↑ Blix I, Birkeland MS, Hansen MB, Heir T (2016). "Posttraumatic Growth—An Antecedent and Outcome of Posttraumatic Stress". Clinical Psychological Science. 4 (4): 620–628. doi:10.1177/2167702615615866. S2CID   146429612.
  100. ↑ Miller O, Shakespeare-Finch J, Bruenig D, Mehta D (October 2020). "DNA methylation of NR3C1 and FKBP5 is associated with posttraumatic stress disorder, posttraumatic growth, and resilience" (PDF). Psychological Trauma. 12 (7): 750–755. doi:10.1037/tra0000574. PMID   32212777. S2CID   214681142.
  101. ↑ Anders SL, Peterson CK, James LM, Engdahl B, Leuthold AC, Georgopoulos AP (July 2015). "Neural communication in posttraumatic growth". Experimental Brain Research. 233 (7): 2013–2020. doi:10.1007/s00221-015-4272-2. PMID   25893907. S2CID   15822711.
  102. ↑ Zoellner T, Maercker A (2006-09-05). "Posttraumatic growth in clinical psychology — A critical review and introduction of a two component model". Clinical Psychology Review. 26 (5): 626–653. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2006.01.008. ISSN   0272-7358. PMID   16515831.
  103. ↑ Boals A (July 2023). "Illusory posttraumatic growth is common, but genuine posttraumatic growth is rare: A critical review and suggestions for a path forward". Clinical Psychology Review. 103: 102301. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2023.102301. ISSN   0272-7358. PMID   37331153.
  104. ↑ Boals A, Southard-Dobbs S, Blumenthal H (2014-04-18). "Adverse Events in Emerging Adulthood Are Associated with Increases in Neuroticism". Journal of Personality. 83 (2): 202–211. doi:10.1111/jopy.12095. ISSN   0022-3506. PMID   24635490.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.