Associations Between Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Posttraumatic Growth Elements: A Network Analysis

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic is a collective trauma causing profound psychological distress and, in some cases, positive psychological changes. The present study ascertained the most influential symptoms and strong connections between posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms and posttraumatic growth...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychological trauma 2024-07, Vol.16 (5), p.731-740
Main Authors: Ganai, Umer Jon, Sachdev, Shivani, Bhat, Naseer Ahmad, Bhushan, Braj
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Collective Trauma
COVID-19
Female
Human
Intervention
Intrusive Thoughts
Male
Mental Health
Negative Emotions
Pandemics
Posttraumatic Growth
Posttraumatic Stress
Symptoms
Trauma
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Summary:Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic is a collective trauma causing profound psychological distress and, in some cases, positive psychological changes. The present study ascertained the most influential symptoms and strong connections between posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms and posttraumatic growth (PTG) elements. It also examined the symptoms/elements that acted as a bridge between the two, to elucidate how PTS and PTG co-exist. Method: The PTSD Checklist (PCL-5) and Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) were used to assess PTS symptoms and PTG, respectively, in a sample of 509 adults from Kashmir, India. Results: The network analysis revealed negative trauma-related emotions as the most influential symptom in the PTS network, and the ability to do better things with life as the most influential element in the PTG network. Eight bridge symptoms/elements emerged between the PTS and PTG, namely intrusive thoughts, nightmares, more compassion for others, sleep disturbances, trauma-related amnesia, hypervigilance, willingness to express emotions, and counting on others more. Conclusions: The study identified the most influential symptom in the PTS network and the bridge symptoms in the combined network of PTS symptoms and PTG elements in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in the present sample. The bridge symptoms helped in understanding how PTS and PTG co-existed in adults exposed to disasters such as COVID-19. Identification of these symptoms can be highly significant for developing targeted interventions. These implications have been discussed further in the present study. Clinical Impact Statement This study assessed the major posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms and the posttraumatic growth elements in an adult sample after the second wave of COVID-19 to find out which of the symptoms and growth elements were related. The findings can be pivotal in creating targeted interventions as the interplay of PTS and growth is deciphered.
ISSN:1942-9681
1942-969X
1942-969X
DOI:10.1037/tra0001411