The longitudinal development of posttraumatic growth among U.S. adult burn injury survivors

Posttraumatic growth is the phenomenon of positive change resulting from coping with challenging or traumatic events. This study examines posttraumatic growth (PTG) in adult burn injury survivors via growth trajectories and correlates across time.

Three-hundred forty-eight burn injury survivors aged 19-86 years old completed a self-report measure of posttraumatic growth at 6, 12, and 24 months. An unconditional and conditional growth curve model with predictors were fitted to the posttraumatic growth data. Predictors included psychosocial variables (satisfaction with life, stigma, body image, anxiety, depression, and pain), demographic variables (age, education, sex), and burn injury variables (days hospitalized, cause of injury, TBSA burn, and admittance to rehab).

On average participants experienced midlevel posttraumatic growth scores and experienced little change across time. Participants' sex, age, educational attainment, burn severity level, satisfaction with life pre-burn injury, and perceived stigma were each significantly associated with initial posttraumatic growth scores.

Burn survivors vary in their degree of posttraumatic growth, with growth largely stable by 6 months postinjury. Targeted intervention to facilitate growth, and thus physical health and mental health, should be completed prior to 6 months postinjury. Burn-related stigma may be a modifiable factor that can enhance posttraumatic growth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).