Post-Traumatic Growth Following Politically Motivated Acts of Violence: 10 Years Post Injury

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn E. Hawley ◽  
Amy J. Armstrong ◽  
Shimon Shiri ◽  
Jenna Czarnota ◽  
Sara Blumenfeld ◽  
...  

The study explored posttraumatic growth (PTG) and its relationship with the quality of life (QOL), posttraumatic stress, and resilience among survivors of terror attacks over 10 years post-injury. Participants were patients of Hadassah Medical Center, Israel, who were injured in terror attacks between 2000 and 2004 during the second Intifada. Variables of interest were obtained from a survey and patients' medical files. In total, 42 patients participated, 66% were men, and the average age was 41.4 years. Multivariate analysis was utilized to predict PTG from a variety of demographic variables including gender, ethnicity, relationship status, age, education, income, religiosity, and injury/disability type. Additional primary variables of study included current levels of QOL, posttraumatic stress, and resilience. Results revealed that married/partnered individuals had higher levels of PTG than divorced or single individuals. Findings suggest that social support following trauma is important for PTG and should be prioritized in recovery interventions with trauma survivors.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eranda Jayawickreme ◽  
Frank J Infurna ◽  
Kinan Alajak ◽  
William J. Chopik ◽  
Laura Blackie ◽  
...  

Posttraumatic growth typically refers to enduring positive psychological change experienced as a result of adversity, trauma, or highly challenging life circumstances. Critics have challenged insights from much of the prior research on this topic, pinpointing its significant methodological limitations. In response to these critiques, we propose that posttraumatic growth can be more accurately captured in terms of personality change—an approach that affords a more rigorous examination of the phenomenon.We outline a set of conceptual and methodological questions and considerations for future work on the topic of post-traumatic growth.We provide a series of recommendations for researchers from across the disciplines of clinical/counseling, developmental, health, personality, and social psychology and beyond, who are interested in improving the quality of research examining resilience and growth in the context of adversity.We are hopeful that these recommendations will pave the way for a more accurate understanding of the ubiquity, durability and causal processes underlying post-traumatic growth.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii179-ii179
Author(s):  
Laurel Kovalchick ◽  
Kelcie Willis ◽  
Julia Brechbiel ◽  
Autumn Lanoye ◽  
Mariya Husain ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) refers to the positive psychological change following a trauma and may include a heightened appreciation for life, greater value in meaningful relationships, and/ or spiritual development. A brain cancer diagnosis may be experienced as a traumatic event given the high risk of tumor progression, lack of curative treatments, and ultimately unexpected disheartening prognosis; however, there is limited research on PTG in neuro-oncology. The aim of this study was to determine the profile of PTG in patients diagnosed with primary brain tumors (PBTs). METHODS Patients with PBTs (N = 53, Mage = 48.17, 52.8% male) completed the Post Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) during routine neuro-oncology clinic visits. Descriptive statistics and frequencies for the five factors of the PTGI and PTGI total were calculated. RESULTS PTG was evident across all domains with the most growth reported in appreciation for life and the least growth in new possibilities. Most patients endorsed low levels of growth across the five factors; 29-49% of patients endorse moderate-to-high severity in at least one PTG domain. Lastly, the average total score (M = 46.10) of this sample met the established cutoff for moderate-to-high PTG (> 46). CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that patients with PBTs may perceive positive psychological growth following the traumatic event of a brain tumor diagnosis. Specifically, patients may experience a greater appreciation for life but relatively less growth in new possibilities, perhaps due to the poor prognosis of many PBTs. In non-CNS cancer populations, patients with higher PTG reported better quality of life and lower distress. Further research to expand our knowledge of PTG and the associated factors, including the demographic, medical, and psychological correlates, will better equip providers to promote positive change in PBT patients.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myoung-ran Yoo ◽  
Seon Young Choi ◽  
Hye Lee Han ◽  
Yu-mi Seo ◽  
Myoung In Noh

2022 ◽  
pp. 003022282110486
Author(s):  
Fatma Altınsoy

This study examines the post-traumatic growth of adolescents who have lost their parents about their experiences. Eight adolescents whose parents had died participated in the study conducted in the phenomenological design. The data were collected with three-step semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the phenomenological analysis technique performed in five stages. The findings were grouped into three main themes as “reactions to loss,” “readjustment,” and “post-traumatic growth,” and nine subthemes under each, and these sub-themes were categorized into forty-five codes.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 166-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah L Jirek

A substantial body of theoretical work on meaning-making processes postulates that assisting clients in reconstructing their personal narratives in the aftermath of trauma helps survivors to integrate the traumatic experience into their identities and life stories. However, the relationship between trauma survivors’ (re-)construction of a coherent life narrative and their development of post-traumatic growth (PTG) has rarely been explored. In this study, I conducted life story interviews with 46 university students with trauma histories to examine: (1) How, and to what degree, trauma survivors (re-)construct a coherent life narrative; and (2) If and how this process is connected to the development of PTG. I found that survivors who were able to articulate a coherent story about their lives experienced more PTG, and I identified key characteristics of three stages of post-trauma change. I also found that trauma-related therapy, writing, informal conversations, and self-reflection played important roles in the narrative reconstruction process. I argue that some narratives are easier to reconstruct than others because not all narratives are equally valued in society. The presence or absence of narratives in the discursive environment, the reception these stories receive within society, and the access that individuals have to these narratives are influenced by the historical moment, social norms, politics, power, privilege, and individuals’ social locations. To promote empowerment and social justice, social workers should help trauma survivors to reconstruct their life stories, create spaces for the less-welcomed narratives, and engage in mezzo- and macro-level efforts to address social problems and inequalities.


2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Tsai ◽  
R. El-Gabalawy ◽  
W. H. Sledge ◽  
S. M. Southwick ◽  
R. H. Pietrzak

BackgroundThere is increasing recognition that, in addition to negative psychological consequences of trauma such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), some individuals may develop post-traumatic growth (PTG) following such experiences. To date, however, data regarding the prevalence, correlates and functional significance of PTG in population-based samples are lacking.MethodData were analysed from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study, a contemporary, nationally representative survey of 3157 US veterans. Veterans completed a survey containing measures of sociodemographic, military, health and psychosocial characteristics, and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory-Short Form.ResultsWe found that 50.1% of all veterans and 72.0% of veterans who screened positive for PTSD reported at least ‘moderate’ PTG in relation to their worst traumatic event. An inverted U-shaped relationship was found to best explain the relationship between PTSD symptoms and PTG. Among veterans with PTSD, those with PTSD reported better mental functioning and general health than those without PTG. Experiencing a life-threatening illness or injury and re-experiencing symptoms were most strongly associated with PTG. In multivariable analysis, greater social connectedness, intrinsic religiosity and purpose in life were independently associated with greater PTG.ConclusionsPTG is prevalent among US veterans, particularly among those who screen positive for PTSD. These results suggest that there may be a ‘positive legacy’ of trauma that has functional significance for veterans. They further suggest that interventions geared toward helping trauma-exposed US veterans process their re-experiencing symptoms, and to develop greater social connections, sense of purpose and intrinsic religiosity may help promote PTG in this population.


Author(s):  
O. Tokhtamysh

This topic is particularly relevant in the context of combat operations in eastern Ukraine against the occupation of the country, where members of the combined forces operation in each day are in a situation threatening the life and risk of getting a military psychological trauma. The article considers the elements and conditions of post-traumatic growth in the context of the rehabilitation process and the social promotion of human development after a traumatic event. The phenomenon of post-traumatic growth can transform the concept of rehabilitation into a term that can be labeled as "proabilitation". The forms of social and rehabilitation support in terms of creating conditions for post-traumatic growth and their effectiveness are explored. The theoretical and applied models with resource elements of the rehabilitation process and post-traumatic growth process are analyzed. It is noted that the traditional model of posttraumatic growth pay attention to the process of rumination and getting control over it and ignores one of the basic symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder, such as uncontrolled visual images (flash backs). The two-component concept of post-traumatic growth, which may be «illusory» or «adaptive», can also be presented as a «compensatory» or «healing» type with regard to the presence or absence of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms after reaching post-traumatic growth. Posttraumatic growth occurs in several domains and can be depending on the type of traumatic event experienced, the individual reactions and the psychological qualities of the person. This process is not such that it automatically eliminates the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, the same, rejecting the need for psychotherapeutic and psychosocial care and focusing only on post-traumatic growth can be a false strategy for those who have experienced a traumatic event. Consequently, the phenomenon of post-traumatic growth can be regarded as a powerful resource factor for the rehabilitation process, in particular, as a motivational component of psychosocial assistance.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S568-S568
Author(s):  
I. Rozentsvit

The purpose of this symposium is to bring awareness about and to promote knowledge of the phenomenon of posttraumatic growth (PTG) and its neurobiological mechanisms. The other purpose is to explore neuro-psycho-education as an important tool in understanding trauma and in promoting PTG.The idea of PTG was pioneered by Calhoun and Tedeschi (1999), who addressed positive psychological change (as they compared it with the “mind's wisdom”), which occurs in some individuals after trauma. PTG happens in the context of and despite of processing traumatic pain and loss. This phenomenon includes five main factors: relating to others with greater compassion; finding new possibilities, personal strength, spiritual change, and a deeper appreciation of life.Both neuropsychoanalysis and neuro-psycho-education offer us the knowledge of neurobiology and its mechanisms of “action” (such as neuroplasticity, neurointegration, mind-body integration, connectomes, ‘triune brain’, ‘bottom up processing’ and ‘top-down regulation’, etc.) and help modern mental health practitioners to understand their clients from “inside out”: to read the cues of their underlying (and not verbalized) patterns of being; to access their undisclosed, untold, emotional-relational history; to understand how this history shapes the present; to appreciate one's unique personal growth, even in the aftermath of trauma, and to understand mindfulness and mentalization as two powerful healing processes which play significant role in PTG.Both neuropsychoanalysis and neuro-psycho-education also help clinicians to be in touch with and to regulate our own emotions and somatic responses to a “difficult client”, while maintaining “benevolent curiosity” and empathic stance.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his/her declaration of competing interest.


2021 ◽  
Vol VI (I) ◽  
pp. 204-221
Author(s):  
Samra Zubair Lodhi ◽  
Seema Gul

The facet of trauma as a constructive means is recent area of study in the field of Positive Psychology i.e, Posttraumatic growth. The present qualitative study is aimed to explore the process of PTG in the trauma victims of Pakistan. Total sample (N=40) having an equal number of participants i.e, manmade disaster (n=20, Male=10 & female=10) and natural disasters (n=20, Male=10 & female=10) was selected purposively. Interview protocol i.e, Semi-Structured Questionnaire was developed with the help of previous literature to go deep about the growth process in participants. The in-depth interviews were conducted on victims showing high Post-traumatic growth on PTGI. In-depth interviews were conducted, tape-recorded and transcribed. Themes were extracted out of bulk of the data through IPA to find out the process of PTG. Main themes were extracted and a Model of PTG was developed with the interaction of those themes.


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