Post-traumatic growth among veterans in the USA: results from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Tsai ◽  
R. El-Gabalawy ◽  
W. H. Sledge ◽  
S. M. Southwick ◽  
R. H. Pietrzak
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Growth ◽  
National Health ◽  
Functional Significance ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Multivariable Analysis ◽  
Intrinsic Religiosity ◽  
Military Health ◽  
Post Traumatic Growth ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Us Veterans

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.

Posttraumatic Growth Experiences of Adolescents With Parental Loss: A Phenomenological Study

2022 ◽  
pp. 003022282110486
Author(s):  
Fatma Altınsoy
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Growth ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Parental Loss ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Post Traumatic Growth ◽  
Analysis Technique ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Phenomenological Design

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.

POSTTRAUMATIC GROWTH IN A PROCESS OF REHABILITATAION

2018 ◽  
pp. 57-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Tokhtamysh
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Growth ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Traumatic Event ◽  
Psychological Trauma ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Rehabilitation Process ◽  
Post Traumatic Growth ◽  
Post Traumatic

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.

The post-traumatic growth: The wisdom of the mind, its clinical and neuropsychoanalytic vicissitudes

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S568-S568
Author(s):  
I. Rozentsvit
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Growth ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Mental Health Practitioners ◽  
Post Traumatic Growth ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
The Mind ◽  
Relational History ◽  
Inside Out

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.

scholarly journals Process of Post Traumatic Growth in Trauma Victims in Pakistan: A Qualitative Study

2021 ◽  
Vol VI (I) ◽  
pp. 204-221
Author(s):  
Samra Zubair Lodhi ◽  
Seema Gul
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Posttraumatic Growth ◽  
Growth Process ◽  
Total Sample ◽  
Interview Protocol ◽  
Post Traumatic Growth ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Trauma Victims ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

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.

scholarly journals Coping Strategy in Differentianting Levels of Post-Traumatic Growth on Housewives Living with Breast Cancer

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 2156-2159
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Posttraumatic Growth ◽  
Coping Strategy ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Psychological State ◽  
Stressful Situation ◽  
Post Traumatic Growth ◽  
Coping Pattern ◽  
Post Traumatic

The psychological state of a person will be affected when they are diagnosed with cancer and this condition will actually worsen the physical condition of the patient. However, many breast cancer sufferers are able to face this stressful situation positively, and they experience post-traumatic growth. They did a series of coping strategy when they had cancer and some of these strategies were able to influence their post-traumatic growth. The current study aims to investigate and to understand how different coping strategy can affect the level of post-traumatic growth of housewives with cancer. This study used a descriptive-explorative qualitative approach with eight women with breast cancer completed surveys using the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (Tedeschi& Calhoun). The coping strategy was obtained using an interview. The results of the present study indicate that sufferers performed different coping strategies and this affects their level of post-traumatic growth. Respondents with high post-traumatic growth exercise a problem-focused coping i.e. positive reappraisal and emotion-focused coping strategy, i.e. seeking social support when they first learned about the condition of their disease. Respondents who had low post-traumatic growth, on the other hand, did emotional-focused coping strategies, which isavoidance and distancing when they first learned about the condition of their illness. This study also found several factors that influence patients’ strategy. There are differences in the Coping pattern Strategy used by housewives with breast cancer in terms of differences in levels of post-traumatic growth it has. The pattern of coping strategy that is carried out for the first time by housewives with breast cancer could lead themto be in a variety of post-traumatic growth conditions.

scholarly journals Association between virtues and posttraumatic growth: Preliminary evidence from a Chinese community sample after earthquakes

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenjie Duan ◽  
Pengfei Guo
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Growth ◽  
Community Sample ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Positive Development ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Indirect Trauma ◽  
Direct Trauma ◽  
Post Traumatic Growth ◽  
Post Traumatic

Objective: Relationship, vitality, and conscientiousness are three fundamental virtues that have been identified recently, which are important individual differences to health, well being, and positive development. This cross-sectional study attempted to explore the relationship between the three constructs and post-traumatic growth (PTG) in three directions, including indirect trauma samples without post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), direct trauma samples without PTSD, and direct trauma samples with PTSD. Methods: A total of 340 community participants from Sichuan Province, Mainland China involved in the study, most of which experienced Wenchuan and Lushan Earthquake. Participants were required to complete the self-reported questionnaire packages at one time point for obtaining their scores on virtues (Chinese Virtues Questionnaire), PTSD (PTSD Checklist-Specific), and PTG (Post-traumatic Growth Inventory-Chinese). Results: Significant and positive correlations between the three virtues and PTG were identified (r = .39 to .56; p < .01). Further regression analysis by stepwise method reveled that: in the indirect trauma samples, vitality explained 32% variance of PTG. In reference to the direct trauma sample without PTSD, both relationship and conscientiousness explained 32% variance of PTG; whereas in the direct trauma sample with PTSD, only conscientiousness accounted for 31% the variance in PTG. Conclusion: This cross-sectional investigation partly revealed the roles of different virtues in trauma context. Findings suggest important implications for strengths-based treatment.

scholarly journals Emotional Disadaptation and Post-Traumatic Growth in Parents of Children with Disabilities:A Link with Severity of Symptoms and the Age of the Child

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 93-106
Author(s):  
A.I. Sergienko
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Growth ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Depression Symptoms ◽  
Subjective Perception ◽  
Symptoms Of Depression ◽  
Post Traumatic Growth ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Psychological Assistance ◽  
Severity Of The Disease

The article presents results of empirical studies of the effect of the subjective perception of parents of the severity of the psychophysical condition of a child with special needs and age (meaning the time elapsed after diagnosis) on depression symptoms ("Beck's depression inventory"), basic beliefs ("World Assumptions Scale") and posttraumatic growth ("Post Traumatic Growth Inventory") in parents of children with disabilities. Parents ' subjective perception of their child's condition with disabilities affects only on one of the scales of PTGI ("Spiritual changes"), as well as the severity of depressive symptoms. The period after the diagnosis of the child (i.e., the age of the child) has an impact on the symptoms of depression and baseline settings, but not on the indicators of PTGI. Based on the results obtained and the concept of PTGI, author formulated recommendations for providing psychological assistance to parents of children with disabilities, taking into account their perception of the severity of the disease and the age of the child.

Post-Traumatic Growth After the Drug-Related Death of a Loved One: Understanding the Influence of Self-Compassion and Hope

2021 ◽  
pp. 106648072110524
Author(s):  
Katharine R. Sperandio ◽  
Daniel Gutierrez ◽  
Meghan Kirk ◽  
Jessica Lopez ◽  
W. Nathaniel Mason
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation Modeling ◽  
Posttraumatic Growth ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Loved One ◽  
Self Compassion ◽  
Post Traumatic Growth ◽  
Meaningful Relationship ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
The Relationship

The interaction between self-compassion, hope, and posttraumatic growth (PTG) following the loss of a loved one to a drug related death (DRD) has been largely unexplored in the current literature. This study examines the interaction between the constructs of hope and self-compassion as they impact PTG among those who are in bereavement from a DRD. For the purposes of this study a “loved one” is defined as anyone who had a meaningful relationship with the person who is now deceased. We examined the associations between self-compassion, PTG and hope using structural equation modeling with a sample of 292 individuals who experienced the DRD of a loved one. Our analysis shows that self-compassion serves as a predictor for PTG when operating independently from hope. When the construct of hope is introduced, it serves as a powerful mediator on the relationship between self-compassion and PTG following bereavement by a DRD. These results suggest that the facilitation of the psychospiritual constructs of hope and self-compassion during the counseling process following the loss of a loved one to a DRD can serve to support PTG.

scholarly journals Level of Burden and Health-Related Quality of Life in Caregivers of Palliative Care Patients

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (23) ◽  
pp. 4806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Perpiñá-Galvañ ◽  
Orts-Beneito ◽  
Fernández-Alcántara ◽  
García-Sanjuán ◽  
García-Caro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Family Caregivers ◽  
Caregiver Burden ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Post Traumatic Growth ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Primary Family

The complexity of palliative care means that the emotional distress and burden that primary family caregivers suffer under can be particularly high. The objective of this study was to determine the level of burden endured by these primary family caregivers and to identify the variables that predict it in the caregiving relatives of people who require home-based palliative care. A descriptive-correlational cross-sectional study was conducted. Socio-demographic and clinical data were collected from caregivers through a self-administered questionnaire that included questions from the 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (ZBI), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS), Post Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), and Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS). A total of 77 caregivers participated; 66.2% were women, and the mean age was 61.5 years. Most (62.3%) were providing care to cancer patients. From among these data, the presence of anxiety as a clinical problem (48.1%), a high average fatigue score (FAS) of 23.0 (SD = 8.5), and the prevalence of intense overload (41.6%) stood out. We found statistically significant correlations between the variables of burden, fatigue, post-traumatic growth, anxiety, and depression, with the latter two being the main predictive variables of burden. In addition, caregiver burden was associated with a worsening of health. Identifying the factors that influence the appearance of overburden will allow the specific needs of careers to be assessed in order to offer them emotional support within the healthcare environment.

scholarly journals The National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study: A Narrative Review and Future Directions

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brienna M. Fogle ◽  
Jack Tsai ◽  
Natalie Mota ◽  
Ilan Harpaz-Rotem ◽  
John H. Krystal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Disorders ◽  
National Health ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Community Integration ◽  
Narrative Review ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Post Traumatic Growth ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Nationally Representative

United States (U.S.) veterans are substantially older than their non-veteran counterparts. However, nationally representative, population-based data on the unique health needs of this population are lacking. Such data are critical to informing the design of large-scale outreach initiatives, and to ensure the effectiveness of service care delivery both within and outside of the Veterans Affairs healthcare system. The National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study (NHRVS) is a contemporary, nationally representative, prospective study of two independent cohorts (n = 3,157 and n = 1,484) of U.S. veterans, which is examining longitudinal changes, and key risk and protective factors for several health outcomes. In this narrative review, we summarize the main findings of all NHRVS studies (n = 82) published as of June 2020, and discuss the clinical implications, limitations, and future directions of this study. Review of these articles was organized into six major topic areas: post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidality, aging, resilience and post-traumatic growth, special topics relevant to veterans, and genetics and epigenetics. Collectively, results of these studies suggest that while a significant minority of veterans screen positive for mental disorders, the majority are psychologically resilient. They further suggest that prevention and treatment efforts designed to promote protective psychosocial characteristics (i.e., resilience, gratitude, purpose in life), and social connectedness (i.e., secure attachment, community integration, social engagement) help mitigate risk for mental disorders, and promote psychological resilience and post-traumatic growth in this population.

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