Anticipated posttraumatic growth from cancer: The roles of adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies

Abstract

Research suggests that individuals with chronic health conditions experience posttraumatic growth (PTG), such as in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. How PTG is perceived at early time points following stressful events and whether PTG reflects a coping process remains uncertain. The current longitudinal study examined cancer patients' perceptions of anticipated posttraumatic growth (APTG), dispositional and situational coping, and perceived PTG at three time points spanning pre-treatment to nine months later. Participants were 49 mixed-cancer patients. At pretreatment, participants completed a modified PTG Inventory to assess APTG. Results revealed that patients reported higher levels of APTG compared to reports of PTG in the literature, with patients ''overanticipating'' PTG for all scales. Coping via dispositional planning moderated the relation between PTG and APTG. These results provide evidence for APTG as a coping process and as an important precursor for later PTG. I discuss these findings in terms of relevant theory and practice implications.

Posttraumatic Growth in Individuals With Chronic Illness: The Role of Social Support and Meaning Making

“…Descriptive statistics provided answers to the first research question (i.e., What level of PTG is present in a sample of adults living with chronic illness?). In general, individuals living with chronic illness showed levels of PTG ( M = 67.29, SD = 21.42) consistent with previous research exploring PTG in similar samples (e.g., M = 63.88, SD = 21.67 [Tallman, ]; M = 63.3, SD = 26.7 [Zeligman et al, ]). The greatest amount of PTG in our sample was seen in those who had been diagnosed with their chronic illness most recently—less than 1 year before participating in the research ( M = 77.63, SD = 11.39).…”

“…This lack of research is particularly noteworthy when considering the stated potential link between the two variables in Tedeschi and Calhoun's () work (i.e., that social support alone is not sufficient, but rather the meaning found in relationships is necessary for PTG). Our sample showed moderate levels of PTG as a result of their chronic illness ( M = 67.29, SD = 21.42) based on the potential range of scores for the PTGI (range = 0–105) and other research exploring PTG in samples with chronic illness (e.g., M = 63.88, SD = 21.67 [Tallman, ]; M = 63.3, SD = 26.7 [Zeligman et al, ]). The lack of significant group differences based on varying demographic factors brings added complexity to the topic because of these findings’ inconsistency with previous research surrounding PTG.…”

“…The purpose of the PTGI (Tedeschi & Calhoun, ) is to measure growth in individuals following a highly stressful or traumatic event. We chose the PTGI for its use in previous studies to investigate the relationship between PTG and chronic illness, such as stroke (Gangstad, Norman, & Barton, ) and cancer (Tallman, ). The PTGI consists of 21 items and measures growth through five factors: Relating to Others (seven items), New Possibilities (four items), Personal Strength (three items), Spiritual Change (two items), and Appreciation of Life (five items).…”

Anticipating Posttraumatic Growth from Cancer: Patients’ and Collaterals’ Experiences

“…As we have noted elsewhere (Tallman, 2013), PTG might well be an illusory rather than an actual phenomenon (Sumalla, Ochoa, & Blanco, 2009;Tennen & Affleck, 2009). A series of papers (Miller, Sherman, & Christensen, 2010) has critically considered analyses of PTG among medical patients that focus on measurement issues in assessment of growth and lack of behavioral corroboration of growth.…”

Spiritually Oriented Psychotherapy for Trauma and Meaning Making Among Ethnically Diverse Individuals in the United States

“…Researchers and clinicians have assessed the temporal component of growth, which may aid in distinguishing the process versus outcome nature of this construct (Tallman, 2013;Tallman et al, 2014). Growth at early time points following trauma may represent a positive illusion, or a coping process.…”