An Integrated Model of Posttraumatic Stress and Growth

Abstract

A number of recent models have examined cognitive predictors of posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic growth (S. Barton, A. Boals, & L. Knowles, 2013; J. Groleau, L. Calhoun, A. Cann, & G. Tedeschi, 2013; K. N. Triplett, R. G. Tedeschi, A. Cann, L. G. Calhoun, & C. L. Reeve, 2012). The current study examined an integrated model of predictors of distress and perceived growth in 194 college undergraduates. Domains covered included the roles of core belief challenge, event centrality, posttrauma cognitions, and event-related rumination. Negative cognitions about the self and the centrality of the event directly predicted both growth and distress, although intrusive rumination predicted only posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, and deliberate rumination predicted only posttraumatic growth. Future research should continue to examine the shared and unique predictors of postevent growth and distress.

Keywords: cognitive processes; coping; posttraumatic growth; posttraumatic stress.