Chinese widowers' self-perception of growth: an exploratory study

Dynamic structure of posttraumatic growth among victims of the 2021 Henan floods: A 6-month, three-wave longitudinal study

Posttraumatic growth (PTG) following traumatic events is a dynamic and transformational process. However, its dynamic structure is currently unknown. The study aimed to estimate the dynamic structure of PTG at the nuance level based on PTG measurement items using network analysis. A three-wave longitudinal study was conducted from July 20, 2021, to January 30, 2022, among the victims experiencing the 2021 Henan floods. The final sample (n = 297) completed reports of PTG after 0, 3, and 6 months of the disaster. We employed the graphical vector autoregressive model approach to estimate extended network models. Contemporaneous network results revealed strong positive associations between domains of PTG in the same measurement window, especially between new possibilities and personal strength. Moreover, temporal network results-the internal interplays among PTG items across measurement windows-revealed that the domain of relating to others plays a central role in the dynamics of PTG. Although other domains predicted an increase in relating to others, relating to others inhibited the development of other domains, especially new possibilities and personal strength. Our study identifies the culture-specific process of PTG and provides empirical evidence on the explanatory models of PTG and the Janus-Face model of PTG.

Management of challenges of conjugal loss among Chinese widowers: an exploratory study

This study presents an exploration of significant coping strategies for Chinese widowers' healthy adjustment to conjugal loss. The informants, 17 Chinese widowers, were asked to share strategies they have adopted to achieve healthy adjustment to spousal loss. The results reveal that loss-orientation coping, consisting of: 1) emotion-focused coping; 2) social coping; and 3) meaning-focused coping, was the key strategy in dealing with challenges posed by the past. Restoration-orientation coping, consisting of: 1) problem-focused coping; 2) social coping; 3) future-focused coping and 4) meaning-focused coping; was the key to managing challenges posed by present and future needs. It is hoped that insights from this study will inform social workers' practice with Chinese widowers experiencing poor adjustment to conjugal loss.