Trajectories of posttraumatic growth among adolescents over time since the Wenchuan earthquake

Studies have found that posttraumatic reactions show heterogeneous trajectories, but few studies have assessed the heterogeneous trajectories of posttraumatic growth (PTG) among adolescents. This study examined trajectories of PTG among adolescents following the Wenchuan earthquake, analyzing the relationships between PTG trajectories and gender, age, traumatic exposure, and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Adolescents were surveyed 1, 1.5, 2, and 2.5 years after the earthquake. Self-report questionnaires were administered to 391 participants ranging in age from 12 to 19 years.

Four PTG trajectories were found: high, decreasing, low-stable, and increasing. High PTG group respondents were older and had more intrusive symptoms. In addition, having more symptoms in the hyperarousal symptom cluster was associated with the development of high PTG. In contrast, the presence of fewer symptoms in the avoidance symptom cluster increased the likelihood of high or increasing PTG.

These findings indicated that adolescents exhibit heterogeneous PTG trajectories and that age and posttraumatic stress disorder symptom clusters differentiate distinct PTG trajectories.