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Long-term perspectives on posttraumatic growth in disaster survivors
Katrine Høyer Holgersen1, Hans Jakob Boe, Are Holen
1Department of Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Journal of Traumatic Stress
|June 22, 2010
Summary
Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is positively associated with ongoing posttraumatic stress, even decades after a disaster. General mental health problems also coexist with PTG, mediated by trauma impact.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Trauma Studies
- Mental Health Research
Background:
- Inconsistent findings exist regarding the relationship between posttraumatic growth (PTG) and psychological distress.
- Long-term perspectives on this relationship are crucial for understanding trauma recovery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between PTG and posttraumatic stress over a very long-term period (27 years).
- To assess the coexistence of PTG with general mental health and concurrent posttraumatic stress.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory for 46 disaster survivors 27 years posttrauma.
- Measured posttraumatic stress using the Impact of Event Scale (IES) at multiple time points (immediately, 1, 5, and 27 years).
- Assessed general mental health in the final follow-up.
Main Results:
- Found strong positive associations between PTG and concurrent posttraumatic stress.
- Observed weaker associations between PTG and past trauma impact.
- Demonstrated that concurrent general mental health problems coexisted with PTG decades after the event, mediated by IES scores.
Conclusions:
- Posttraumatic growth is linked to ongoing posttraumatic stress and mental health challenges, even decades after a traumatic event.
- The impact of the trauma (IES) plays a mediating role in the relationship between PTG and general mental health.
- These findings highlight the complex, long-term interplay between growth and distress following trauma.
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