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

Post-traumatic growth among emergency nurses after COVID-19 in Shanghai, China: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to investigate the post-traumatic growth of emergency nurses (ENs) in Shanghai, China, in 2022 following the COVID-19 pandemic.

DESIGN

A phenomenological qualitative research approach was employed, with 17 ENs being interviewed between July and August 2022. Data collection was conducted through semistructured, in-depth interviews, and data analysis was carried out using the Colaizzi's seven-step analysis method.

SETTING

A third-level hospital in Shanghai.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 17 ENs were interviewed through face-to-face, semistructured, in-depth interviews.

RESULTS

Three main themes and eight subthemes were extracted from the data: (a) stress, (b) restructuring and (c) growth.

CONCLUSION

Significant stress was imposed on ENs by the Shanghai COVID-19 pandemic, but cognitive restructuring was successfully undergone by them, leading to the experience of growth. It is recommended that post-traumatic growth levels be enhanced through professional psychological counselling and tailored support measures for different stages.

Using network analysis to explore the key bridge symptoms between posttraumatic stress symptoms and posttraumatic growth among survivors 10 years after the Wenchuan earthquake in China

Despite previous research has illustrated there is high-coexistence between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in the aftermath of traumatic events, few studies have conceptualized the coexistence mechanism of the two psychological phenomena. Using the network analysis, this study aimed to identify the key bridge symptoms and compare sex differences between PTSD symptoms and PTG elements in survivors 10 years after the Wenchuan earthquake in China. A total of 744 survivors 10 years after the Wenchuan earthquake in China completed self-reported questionnaires on demographics, PTSD symptoms (4-item of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist), and PTG (10-item of Posttraumatic Growth Inventory). Network analysis was used to identify the network structure of PTSD symptoms and elements of PTG, along with bridge symptoms. Additionally, sex differences in the network structure were compared by the Network Comparison Test. Results revealed that the network of PTSD symptoms and elements of PTG was robust to stability and accuracy tests. The key bridge symptoms in the network were "Stronger religious faith", "Changed priorities", and "Easily startled". There were significant differences in network global strength across sex, and network structure across the severity of property loss other than house damage. Future interventions targeting the three key bridge symptoms are expected to relieve the severity of PTSD and promote growth following exposure to traumatic events.

Latent Profiles of Posttraumatic Growth: 17 years After the Bam Earthquake in Iran

OBJECTIVE

Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is a positive psychological change after challenging life events. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of positive and long-term psychological changes in people who experienced the Bam earthquake.

METHODS

A total of 916 adolescents were surveyed 17 years after the earthquake. Self-report questionnaires were administered to participants. A latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted to extract the subgroups of adults.

RESULTS

The LPA identified 5 meaningfully profiles that were characterized based on the pattern of PTG dimensions. The common profile was profile, which perceived very low "relating to others" dimension and medium for other PTG dimensions. Also, the results showed significant differences among gender and age and nonsignificant differences in marital status and education level among the profiles of PTG.

CONCLUSIONS

For stressful situations, the different dimensions of PTG change indirectly in every person. In Bam, some patterns are seen according to PTG after 17 y. Among these dimensions, the part of "relating to others", has the greatest change. Another conclusion is that according to a relatively high profile for 5 clusters, it seems the impact of 17 y should be less on PTG as the number of extractive patterns is approximately high for the case.

Post-traumatic growth trajectories among frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A three-wave follow-up study in mainland China

OBJECTIVES

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a significant toll on people worldwide for more than 2 years. Previous studies have highlighted the negative effects of COVID-19 on the mental health of healthcare workers (HCWs) more than the positive changes, such as post-traumatic growth (PTG). Furthermore, most previous studies were cross-sectional surveys without follow-ups. This study draws on PTG follow-up during the COVID-19 outbreak at 12-month intervals for 2 years since 2020. The trajectories and baseline predictors were described.

METHODS

A convenience sampling method was used to recruit frontline nurses or doctors at the COVID-19-designated hospital who were eligible for this study. A total of 565 HCWs completed the 2 years follow-up and were used for final data analysis. The latent growth mixture models (GMM) was used to identify subgroups of participants with different PTG trajectories. Multinomial logistic regression model was used to find predictors among sociodemographic characteristics and resilience at baseline.

RESULTS

Four trajectory PTG types among HCWs were identified: 'Persistent, "Steady increase", "High with drop", and "Fluctuated rise." Comparing the "Persistent low" type, the other three categories were all associated with older age, higher education. Furthermore, "Persistent low" was also negatively associated with resilience at baseline.

CONCLUSION

The PTG of HCWs with different characteristics showed different trends over time. It is necessary to increase the measure frequency to understand the PTG status in different times. Improving HCW's resilience could help improve staff PTG.

After Experiencing a Tornado: Adolescents' Longitudinal Trajectories in Posttraumatic Growth and Their Association with Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

This study investigated the trajectories in posttraumatic growth (PTG) among adolescents who survived from the Yancheng tornado in China, and explored the effects of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) on these trajectories. Participants (n = 246) finished 4 assessments at 6, 9, 12, and 18 months after the tornado. Growth mixture model and logistic regression were used to examine the heterogeneous trajectories and the role of PTSS for differentiating trajectories respectively. Two latent PTG trajectories were observed: group with decreasing PTG and group with fluctuant PTG, which might stem from the illusory component and the factual component of PTG respectively based on the two-component model; and adolescents with more PTSS had higher probabilities generating decreasing PTG, that is, illusory PTG. This study suggested differentiating PTG trajectories and related influencing factors to improve the post-disaster psychological interventions in a longitudinal perspective.

Posttraumatic stress disorder and growth: Examination of joint trajectories in children and adolescents

Positive health endpoints are not the opposite of negative endpoints. Previous studies examining posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) trajectories have overlooked the co-existence of PTSD and PTG, making it difficult to accurately distinguish individuals with various posttraumatic presentations, causing the effects of targeted interventions to be discounted. To fill this gap, the current study sought to examine joint PTSD and PTG trajectories in children and adolescents. Eight hundred and seventy-six Chinese children and adolescents were recruited to complete self-report questionnaires 6, 12, and 18 months after the Ya'an earthquake. Multiple-process growth mixture modeling analysis was used to test the study proposal. Five distinct joint PTSD and PTG trajectory types were found: recovery, growth, struggling, resistant, and delayed symptoms. Female students and students who felt trapped or fearful were more likely to be in the struggling group, and students who experienced injury to themselves or family members were more likely to belong to the delayed symptom group. These findings suggest that postdisaster psychological services should be provided to relieve delayed symptoms in individuals who experience injury to themselves or their family members, and individuals in the struggling group should be supported to achieve growth.

Trajectories of Posttraumatic Growth and Their Associations With Quality of Life After the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami

The 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan was an extraordinarily stressful incident that caused harmful psychological reactions, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), among affected individuals. However, a proportion of exposed individuals experienced posttraumatic growth (PTG), characterized by a noticeable degree of personal strength, spirituality, life appreciation, perception of new possibilities in life, and enhanced relationships with others. Some researchers have argued that these positive reactions may be an illusory change related to coping with traumatic events. We examined trajectory patterns related to PTG Inventory (PTGI) subscales to elucidate the existence of both real and illusory growth regarding quality of life (QoL), utilizing group-based trajectory models. Three online questionnaires were distributed at 6 months (N = 2,554; M age = 47.04 years, SD = 12.62), 12 months (N = 887; M age = 48.11 years, SD = 12.43), and 42 months (N = 560; M age = 48.86 years, SD = 12.25) postdisaster. Participants responded to items related to demographic characteristics, disaster experiences, posttraumatic stress symptoms, PTG, and QoL. Three main PTG trajectories emerged, characterized by growth, no growth, and illusory growth, with QoL as a time invariant covariate. Compared with the growth trajectory, the odds ratios (ORs) for no growth ranged from 2.27 to 5.04; for illusory growth, the ORs ranged from 2.09 to 4.67. To our knowledge, this was the first study to report growth trajectories related to PTGI subscales and their underlying differences in psychological mechanisms and processes following the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.

Mediating role of post-traumatic stress disorder in post-traumatic growth in adults who experienced the 2017 Pohang earthquake

BACKGROUND

The largest earthquake recorded in Korea occurred in Pohang in 2017. This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on the relationship between earthquake exposure level and post-traumatic growth (PTG) in adults who experienced the earthquake.

METHODS

We used a cross-sectional survey via convenience sampling to collect data from 200 respondents 18 months after the earthquake.

RESULTS

PTSD was severe in individuals who were married, had no religious affiliation, lower income, and higher earthquake exposure. PTG was higher in older, married, and more religious respondents. PTSD and PTG had a positive relationship, with PTSD fully mediating the relationship between earthquake exposure level and PTG.

LIMITATIONS

The Pohang earthquake, with limited damage to life and property, may have had different effects on exposed individuals than more destructive earthquakes. Additionally, this study used the Korean version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory; most of the participants reporting a religious affiliation were Christians, which may have affected the results.

CONCLUSIONS

Exposure to the Pohang earthquake was strongly associated with PTSD, which indirectly affected PTG. Future research should focus on developing an adequate PTG tool for natural disaster victims, more extensively investigating PTSD and PTG, and analyzing PTSD and PTG in terms of the disaster type.