ObjectivePost‐traumatic growth typically refers to enduring positive psychological change experienced as a result of adversity, trauma, or highly challenging life circumstances. Critics have challenged insights from much of the prior research on this topic, pinpointing its significant methodological limitations. In response to these critiques, we propose that post‐traumatic growth can be more accurately captured in terms of personality change—an approach that affords a more rigorous examination of the phenomenon.MethodWe outline a set of conceptual and methodological questions and considerations for future work on the topic of post‐traumatic growth.ResultsWe provide a series of recommendations for researchers from across the disciplines of clinical/counseling, developmental, health, personality, and social psychology and beyond, who are interested in improving the quality of research examining resilience and growth in the context of adversity.ConclusionWe are hopeful that these recommendations will pave the way for a more accurate understanding of the ubiquity, durability, and causal processes underlying post‐traumatic growth.

Posttraumatic growth typically refers to enduring positive psychological change experienced as a result of adversity, trauma, or highly challenging life circumstances. Critics have challenged insights from much of the prior research on this topic, pinpointing its significant methodological limitations. In response to these critiques, we propose that posttraumatic growth can be more accurately captured in terms of personality change—an approach that affords a more rigorous examination of the phenomenon.We outline a set of conceptual and methodological questions and considerations for future work on the topic of post-traumatic growth.We provide a series of recommendations for researchers from across the disciplines of clinical/counseling, developmental, health, personality, and social psychology and beyond, who are interested in improving the quality of research examining resilience and growth in the context of adversity.We are hopeful that these recommendations will pave the way for a more accurate understanding of the ubiquity, durability and causal processes underlying post-traumatic growth.

Post-traumatic growth is a compelling idea (Calhoun & Tedeschi, 2014), yet, extant research has often employed retrospective reports of change, rather than examining change over time. In Karakter, we followed a sample of Syrian origin young adults who recently resettled in the Netherlands (initial N = 168) four times over a 13-month period to examine experiences of adversity, emotions, and positive personality change. We provide initial insights by narrating the changes, challenges, and opportunities we encountered in the research. We describe how we incorporated open science practices in Karakter. We propose analyses that describe the demographic characteristics (e.g., education level, length of stay in the Netherlands, and family members present in the Netherlands and in Syria), experiences of adversity (i.e., past traumatic experiences and current post-migration problems), positive personality traits (i.e., attachment, resilient coping, empathy, gratitude, and compassion), and the Big Five personality traits of the people in our sample. We close by suggesting good practices for researchers who are interested in conducting similar studies with populations that are traditionally considered hard-to-reach in the future.

Post-traumatic growth is a compelling idea, yet extant research has often employed retrospective reports of change, rather than examining change over time. Research on samples of people that are traditionally seen as hard-to-reach are rare within personality psychology. In Karakter, we assessed a sample of Syrian origin young adults who recently resettled in the Netherlands (initial  N = 168) four times over a 13-month period to examine experiences of adversity, emotions, and positive personality change. Here, we provide a detailed narrative of the research process, beginning with a description of how we incorporated open science practices in Karakter. We then turn to a discussion of the changes, challenges, and opportunities we encountered in the research. In doing so, we discuss conceptual and methodological considerations when examining personality change. We close with suggestions for researchers who are interested in conducting similar studies with populations that are underrecruited in the future.

Background Dispositional compassion is regarded as a facet of Agreeableness, an emotional driver of prosociality, and a primary marker of adjustment. We examined changes in dispositional compassion in Syrian young adults resettling in the Netherlands, as well as the role of migration-related and demographic variables in this change. Methods We analyzed data from a 4-wave (T1-T4), 13-month longitudinal study ( N = 168; T1 Mage = 28.1 years, 70% male) using Latent Growth Curve Modelling (LGCM) in Mplus. Results Bivariate correlations indicated moderate test-retest correlations across the four waves of dispositional compassion and several correlations with the migration-related and demographic variables. A LGCM indicated a high initial level and small linear decrease in compassion over the four waves. Except for a link between pre-migration adversity and the intercept, the migration-related and demographic variables were not related to either the intercept of the slope of dispositional compassion. Conclusion Results suggest that high levels of dispositional compassion may be common for Syrian young adults with refugee backgrounds, but on average, slowly decreases over time. The cross-sectional associations between migration-related and demographic variables and dispositional compassion in the absence of a prospective one emphasize the importance of longitudinal research for understanding trajectories of adjustment.

Around the world, the number of people who seek or have refugee status continues to increase. Despite the adverse experiences and challenges that many people who seek or have refugee status encounter, adversity is thought to promote growth in resilience, kindness, and humility. Little is known about how such positive personality development occurs, but one potential pathway is through emotions. Exposure to adversity may trigger a range of emotional experiences such as sorrow, guilt, trepidation, nostalgia, compassion, gratitude, and love. These emotional experiences, in turn, may drive personality change. Karakter is a 13-month longitudinal study examining how emotional experiences in everyday life may contribute to the link between adversity and personality change in Syrian-origin young adults who have recently resettled in the Netherlands. In this project, the authors join a growing literature examining positive development and specifically whether positive personality change follows adversity in individuals who seek or have refugee status. The results should provide much needed information that can help people with refugee backgrounds thrive and also help change the way they are perceived by receiving cultures.