Trajectories of posttraumatic growth and depreciation after two major earthquakes.

Abstract

This study examined trajectories of posttraumatic growth or depreciation (i.e., positive or negative life change) in personal strength and relationships after 2 major earthquakes in Canterbury, New Zealand using group-based trajectory modeling. Participants completed questionnaires regarding posttraumatic growth or depreciation in personal strength and relationship domains 1 month after the first earthquake in September 2010 (N = 185) and 3 months (n = 156) and 12 months (n = 144) after the more severe February 2011 earthquake. Three classes of growth or depreciation patterns were found for both domains. For personal strength, most of the participants were grouped into a "no growth or depreciation" class and smaller proportions were grouped into either a "posttraumatic depreciation" or "posttraumatic growth" class. The 3 classes for relationships all reported posttraumatic growth, differing only in degree. None of the slopes were significant for any of the classes, indicating that levels of growth or depreciation reported after the first earthquake remained stable when assessed at 2 time points after the second earthquake. Multinomial logistic regression analyses examining pre- and postearthquake predictors of trajectory class membership revealed that those in the "posttraumatic growth" personal strength class were significantly younger and had significantly higher pre-earthquake mental health than those in the "posttraumatic depreciation" class. Sex was the only predictor of the relationship classes: No men were assigned to the "high posttraumatic growth" class. Implications and future directions are discussed.

A scoping review of post‐disaster social support investigations conducted after disasters that struck the Australia and Oceania continent

“…Community‐level analyses showed that areas with higher levels of group involvement offered greater post‐disaster mental health protection.13. Marshall et al () Modelled post‐traumatic growth and posttraumatic depreciation trajectories.Events: Canterbury earthquake, September 2010; Christchurch earthquake, February 2011 Country: New Zealand Age: adults (mean=56.80) Sample size: 156 Sampling: random Diversity: 75 per cent female; 91 per cent New Zealand EuropeanDesign: prospective, longitudinal Time: two months before; 1, 3, and 12 months after Support measures: post‐disaster relationship functioning (five items; scale‐based)Group‐based trajectory modelling revealed that all participants reported some degree of growth in post‐disaster personal relationships ( support growth ). This effect was stronger among females.14.…”

“…Major social support findings 13. Marshall et al (2015) Modelled post-traumatic growth and posttraumatic depreciation trajectories. Analyses that accounted for covariates showed that respondents with high PTSD score (PCL-C≥30) 3 at T1 received more social support (support mobilisation-relative needs).…”

Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Posttraumatic Growth in Children and Adolescents Following an Earthquake: A Latent Transition Analysis

“…The findings suggest that some youths (25%) recovered over time, while in others PTSS remained stable either at high (4%) or low levels (71%; Self‐Brown et al., ). Other recent studies have examined the trajectories of PTG over time (Danhauer et al., ; Marshall et al., ). A study of adults after two major earthquakes identified three trajectories of growth in relationships.…”

“…A study of adults after two major earthquakes identified three trajectories of growth in relationships. They differed only in levels of growth (low, moderate, and high), but no significant change (slope) was observed over time (Marshall et al., ).…”

“…Research on psychological adjustment following a traumatic event indicates that psychological health can develop over time (e.g., Fan, Long, Zhou, Zheng, & Liu, 2015;Marshall, Frazier, Frankfurt, & Kuijer, 2015;Self-Brown, Lai, Thompson, McGill, & Kelley, 2013). For instance, a study examined the trajectories of PTSS in a group of youths following 2005's Hurricane Katrina over two years.…”