Posttraumatic growth, posttraumatic stress and psychological adjustment in the aftermath of the 2011 Oslo bombing attack

Health and Quality of Life Outcomes

Trond Heir¹  Alexander Nissen¹  Marianne Skogbrott Birkeland¹  Marianne Bang Hansen¹  Ines Blix¹ 

[1] Norwegian Centre for Violence and Traumatic Stress Studies, NKVTS, Pb 181 Nydalen, 0409 Oslo, Norway

关键词: Life satisfaction;    Adjustment;    PTSD;    Posttraumatic stress;    Posttraumatic growth;   

Others  :  823160
DOI  :  10.1186/1477-7525-11-160

 received in 2013-08-15, accepted in 2013-09-28,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Background

Experiencing potentially traumatic events is associated with psychological distress. However, some survivors also experience positive personal and psychological changes in the aftermath of trauma.

Methods

The present study investigated perceived posttraumatic growth in 197 ministerial employees who were present at work during the 2011 Oslo bombing attack. The relationships between trauma-exposure, peritraumatic reactions and posttraumatic growth were studied. Moreover, the adaptive significance of posttraumatic growth was addressed.

Results

The results showed that higher levels of trauma-exposure and immediate reactions were significantly related to perceived posttraumatic growth. No support for an adaptive significance of posttraumatic growth was found. On the contrary, posttraumatic growth was associated with higher symptom levels of posttraumatic stress. After adjusting for posttraumatic stress symptoms no association was found between perceived growth and work and social adjustment. However, perceived growth was associated with higher levels of life satisfaction.

Conclusion

The present results are in line with previous findings indicating that perceived growth may be unrelated to psychological adjustment, and suggest that the concept and significance of posttraumatic growth should be interpreted with caution.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Blix et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

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