Does perceived post-traumatic growth predict better psychological adjustment during the COVID-19 pandemic? Results from a national longitudinal survey in the USA. J Psychiatr Res 2022 Feb;146:179-185
Date
01/08/2022Pubmed ID
34995993Pubmed Central ID
PMC8719907DOI
10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.12.040Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85122190995 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 14 CitationsAbstract
Perceiving that one has grown in positive ways following highly stressful experiences (perceived posttraumatic growth; PPTG) is common and sometimes--but not always--related to psychological wellbeing. However, PPTG is typically studied cross-sectionally and well after the stressful experience has passed; how PPTG might relate to wellbeing over time in an unprecedented, ongoing worldwide disaster such as the COVID-19 pandemic remains unknown. Thus, the current study sought to answer whether, in the midst of the pandemic, PPTG relates to subsequent wellbeing, broadly defined. Participants were N = 1544 MTurk workers who completed a five-wave (T1-T5) six-month longitudinal study. Current analyses focused on T2-T5 (ns = 860-712). At each time point, participants completed self-report measures of PPTG and wellbeing (depression, anxiety, stress, positive states of mind, alcohol use, posttraumatic stress). In cross-lagged panel models, PPTG was largely unrelated to subsequent wellbeing. Somewhat more evidence was found that increasing distress led to increases in PPTG, suggesting perceptions of growth may serve as a coping mechanism. PPTG does not appear to benefit adjustment to the COVID-19 pandemic and may simply reflect efforts to manage distress.
Author List
Park CL, Wilt JA, Russell BS, Fendrich MRAuthor
Michael Fendrich PhD Professor in the Emergency Medicine department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Emotional AdjustmentHumans
Longitudinal Studies
Pandemics
Stress, Psychological
