Longitudinal Development of Primary and Secondary Posttraumatic Growth in Aging Veterans and Their Wives: Domain‐Specific Trajectories

Abstract

Posttraumatic growth (PTG), the positive psychological transformations that follow traumatic events, affects both direct survivors (primary PTG) and their significant others (secondary PTG). Though primary and secondary PTG have been widely investigated in the literature, their long‐term trajectories decades after a traumatic event, especially as survivors enter older age, remain largely uninvestigated. Furthermore, it remains contested whether PTG adds up to a monolithic construct or rather consists of relatively independent components. Addressing these issues, we assessed a sample of Israeli male veterans from the 1973 Yom Kippur war (N = 349) and their wives (N = 156) at three time points over the course of nearly three decades. Both the veterans (primary survivors) and their wives (secondary survivors) reported PTG relating to the veterans' experiences during the war and/or captivity. Latent growth mixture modeling was conducted to identify trajectories of PTG on the five subscales of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. Long‐term trajectories of PTG followed heterogeneous patterns of fluctuation over time and particularly as participants entered older age. On most subscales, decreasing PTG scores were evident, a trend that was more pronounced among the primary survivors than the secondary survivors as primary and secondary PTG fluctuate considerably in the long‐term and seem to decrease as individuals enter older age. Furthermore, it would seem that PTG should not be considered a holistic concept but rather a conglomeration of positive changes. Implications of the findings are discussed within the context of limitations and potential intervening factors.

Long-term courses of posttraumatic growth in survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

“…This gap in the research is unsurprising given the complexity and ethical considerations involved in conducting longitudinal studies in populations who have survived disasters (Frank & Trinidad, 2007). However, a growing number of studies have successfully examined the trajectories of PTG over longer periods of time (e.g., Bachem et al, 2018; Danhauer et al, 2015; Kyutoku et al, 2021; Rzeszutek & Gruszczyńska, 2021). In each case, multiple trajectories of reported PTG were found in the study samples, with membership in different trajectories varying by factors such as age, race, coping strategies, and social support.…”

Secondary posttraumatic growth in children of survivors of the 1994 genocide: The role of childhood trauma, posttraumatic stress, and meaning-making.

“…Just as children of genocide survivors have been shown to experience secondary PTS symptoms, it is possible that some also experience secondary PTG. Secondary PTG refers to positive psychological changes in significant others who were not directly exposed to the traumatic event, but indirectly exposed either by witnessing the event, hearing that a close friend or loved one experienced the event or being repeatedly exposed to aversive details about the event (Bachem et al, 2018). Secondary PTG is conceptualized as the result of the cognitive struggle induced by the indirectly experienced traumatic event, and comprises a range of positive psychological changes, including an increased feeling of personal strength, a sense of new possibilities, greater appreciation of life, more positive relations with others, and spiritual/existential change (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996).…”

PTSD and PTG in French and American Firefighters: A Comparative Study

“…In addition, Taku et al [55] show that there is in fact a positive correlation between the time since the event and PTG in an American sample, but that no correlation was found between these two variables in a Japanese sample. Similarly, some studies suggest that PTG may increase over time [48], while others suggest that PTG decreases [56], or rather is a dynamic process that may take different trajectories (e.g., increase, decrease, or remain stable; [20,57,58]. Finally, Wu et al [59] suggest in their literature review that shorter time since the traumatic event was predictive of higher levels of growth.…”