Posttraumatic Growth and Depreciation from University Students’ Perspectives

Mirzaee, Amin; Alizade, Azize; Dowran, Behnaz; Shafiezadeh, Akram

doi:10.18502/ijps.v16i2.5821

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Posttraumatic depreciation (PTD) indicates the degree to which one has been impaired by or experienced negative consequences as a result of trauma (Barrington & Shakespeare-Finch, 2013). Other studies suggest that the relationship between PTD and PTG may be more complex than it appears on the surface and is likely nuanced by culture and gender (Baker et al, 2008; Mirzaee et al, 2021; Oshiro et al, 2019; Taku et al, 2021). Taken together, these studies suggest that it may not be wise to simply assume a positive correlation between flourishing and PTG, and we recommend future studies to determine the replicability of our findings.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Posttraumatic growth and flourishing in the face of racial trauma.

Grier‐Reed¹,

Maples²,

Houseworth

et al. 2023

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective: Examining well-being in the face of racial trauma is timely, clinically significant, and severely understudied, especially in Black populations. To address this gap, we investigated the relationship between flourishing and posttraumatic growth among Black undergraduates who reported a history of racial trauma. Method: Participants were 96 Black college students recruited from a predominantly White Midwestern university, all of whom reported experience of racial trauma. Participants completed the Flourishing Scale and Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) in an online survey. Most were women/cisgender female/female (66.67%) and identified as religious (66%); 47% were first-generation college students. The average age of the sample was 21.14 (SD = 5.46). Results: We analyzed Flourishing and PTGI scores for students who were able to identify/recall a racially traumatic event/experience using linear regression. Results indicated that after controlling for sociodemographic factors, scores on the PTGI significantly predicted Flourishing scores and accounted for 29.4% of the variance. Conclusions: These findings suggest that those who are able to deepen connections with others, tap into their inner strengths, gain new perspectives and a new appreciation for life, and connect to spirituality not only grow but are more likely to report flourishing. Contributing empirical evidence to the reliability (a =.91) and validity of the Flourishing Scale for Black college students, our findings also have implications for educators and clinicians interested in helping Black students grow and flourish in the aftermath of racially traumatic events. Clinical Impact StatementWe found evidence of internal consistency reliability and convergent validity for the Flourishing Scale in a sample of Black college students who reported racial trauma, where posttraumatic growth and flourishing were significantly correlated. Fundamentally, drawing attention to possibilities for posttraumatic growth and flourishing in the aftermath of racial trauma, we offer an important strengths-based shift that balances a focus on adversity with a focus on empirically measured positive development. Namely, opportunities to connect with others, see new possibilities, identify strengths, tap into spirituality, and appreciate life are underscored.

show abstract