Core belief challenge, rumination, and posttraumatic growth in women following pregnancy loss

Pregnancy loss is thought to impact women's perceptions of the world around them. Despite the growing recognition that this loss can have a differential impact on an individual's mental health, research focused on women's positive psychological change and factors contributing to it following pregnancy loss is scarce. This study explored relationships among core belief challenge, rumination, and women's experience of posttraumatic growth following miscarriage or stillbirth. Specifically, this study investigated whether deliberate rumination mediated the relationship between core belief challenge and posttraumatic growth.

Women who had experienced miscarriage or stillbirth (n = 476) were recruited via social media and completed an online survey that assessed core belief challenge, event-related rumination, and posttraumatic growth. Loss context factors and demographics were also collected. Hypotheses were tested via hierarchical multiple regression and the PROCESS macro.

Change in beliefs about the world and rumination predicted posttraumatic growth. Moreover, deliberate, but not intrusive, rumination mediated the relationship between core belief challenge and posttraumatic growth.

Findings suggest that core belief challenge and rumination play a significant role in positive posttrauma outcomes related to pregnancy loss. This study contributes to the literature by validating the applicability of posttraumatic growth theory to women who have experienced pregnancy loss. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).