Abstract
This study examined the association between post-traumatic growth (PTG), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and trauma-related factors in cardiac outpatients. Participants recruited from four cardiology clinics between November 2014 and July 2015 (N = 52, 69.2% men, Mage = 65 years) completed self-assessments of PTG and PTSD along with demographic, cardiac health index, and trauma-related factors. In total, 75% of the sample endorsed their cardiac event as traumatic, while 17.2% reported their cardiac event as their ‘worst trauma’; those endorsing the latter did not significantly differ from those endorsing ‘other traumas’ as their worst. Chi-square analyses indicated that the lifetime traumas of experiencing loss or abandonment, witnessing trauma, and experiencing a natural disaster were significantly related to PTG factors of new possibilities, relating to others, and spirituality. Bivariate correlations on all PTSD symptom clusters and factors of PTG revealed the strongest associations between the PTG factors of spiritual change and appreciation of life. Lifetime PTSD symptoms, duration of negative reactions, and re-experiencing symptoms were found to be significantly associated with higher PTG, and a unique independent effect emerged with avoidance symptoms. Our results suggest that PTG may be associated with particular facets of PTSD symptomatology.
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Kirby Magid, Renée El-Gabalawy, Anbukarasi Maran, and Eva R. Serber declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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All procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committees and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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The study utilized a waiver of informed consent because no protected health information was collected, and data were all restricted to the self-report participant forms.
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Magid, K., El-Gabalawy, R., Maran, A. et al. An Examination of the Association Between Post-traumatic Growth and Stress Symptomatology in Cardiac Outpatients. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 26, 271–281 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-018-9585-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-018-9585-4