Predicting trajectories of posttraumatic growth following acquired physical disability

This study examined predictors of trajectories of posttraumatic growth (PTG) among individuals with acquired physical disability across the first year after discharge from acute rehabilitation. Research Method/Design: Data were collected from participants (64 veterans with spinal cord injury and dysfunction, and 19 with brain injury) on various demographic and injury characteristics, appraisals of injury, and coping styles at baseline, as well as PTG at baseline and 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups.

Comparison of initial curvature models suggested that a cubic, or S-shaped, trend best fit the trajectory of PTG over time. Three hierarchical linear models (HLMs) were run to examine whether demographic and injury characteristics, appraisals of injury, and coping styles predicted height of PTG over time, and a final HLM examined whether any significant effects in the first HLMs interacted with time effects in the prediction of participants' PTG trajectories. Individuals with lower estimated premorbid IQ, older age, greater use of challenge appraisals, and greater use of reframing and religious coping experienced higher levels of PTG over the first year after discharge from rehabilitation. None of these predictors interacted with time effects in predicting participants' PTG trajectories.

These findings point to ways in which clinical researchers can better understand PTG following acquired physical disability and investigate the honing of psychological interventions to more precisely target specific modifiable predictors of PTG. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).