What predicts personal growth following a deployment? An examination of National Guard soldiers through the lens of posttraumatic growth

Farero, Adam; Blow, Adrian J.; Bowles, Ryan P.; Ufer, Lisa Gorman; Kees, Michelle; Guty, Danielle

doi:10.1080/08995605.2021.2002105

Cited by 2 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Seeking social support is a reflection of a person's relationship with others, as it indicates a willingness to accept assistance from them (Farero et al, 2021). Help-seeking can be considered a behavioral response to distress, as it represents the ability to ask for and recruit support.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Actively seeking social support encompasses both instrumental (seeking advice, actual help, or information) and emotional (seeking sympathy, understanding, and moral support) support-seeking (Carver et al, 1989). The act of HS reflects the quality of one's relationships with others, as it indicates a willingness to trust others to help bear whatever burdens are being borne (Farero et al, 2021). There is a distinction between actively seeking social support and receiving or perceiving it.…”

Section: Help-seeking Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…WEISS-DAGAN and TAUBMAN -BEN-ARI Over the years, most studies have revealed positive correlations between perceived social support and personal growth in general (Idas et al, 2019), and in the context of military service (Farero et al, 2021;Tsai & Pietrzak, 2017) in particular. According to several meta-analyses, social support during military service can protect one against the negative effects of military stress (Taft et al, 2011).…”

Section: Perceived Social Supportmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…stress views such situations and life transitions as opportunities for experiencing personal growth (Farero et al, 2021;Schaefer & Moos, 1992). Several studies have examined the impact of basic training on area-life stress (Mayseless & Scharf, 2001;Mikulincer & Florian, 1995).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We paid special attention to help and perceived social support, with one serving as an internal resource of agency in the form of HS, which may assist individuals in handling stressful situations, and the other (i.e., social support) as a perceived external resource, which may shelter them from the threatening consequences of such situations. As perceived social support has been found to play a crucial role in soldiers' personal growth (Farero et al, 2021), we explored whether it moderated the association between soldiers' internal resources and their personal growth. We will begin by reviewing the transition to military service as a stress-evoking event and soldiers' potential to experience growth in the wake of this event.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Perceived stress and personal growth following the transition to military service: The role of sense of coherence and perceived social support

Weiss‐Dagan,

Taubman – Ben‐Ari

2024

Stress and Health

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Relying on personal growth and structuration theories, we aimed to examine the internal (sense of coherence/SOC and help‐seeking/HS) and external (perceived social support) resources that contribute to soldiers' personal growth following the transition to military service. We also investigated the role that perceived social support plays in moderating the relationship between SOC and personal growth, and between HS and personal growth. Two‐hundred‐and‐seventy‐one compulsory service soldiers (of whom 135 were men and 136 were women) completed self‐report questionnaires between 6 and 12 months post‐recruitment. The results showed both linear and curvilinear associations between soldiers' perceived stress and personal growth; SOC, HS, and perceived social support were positively correlated with personal growth; and perceived social support moderated both SOC and HS correlations with personal growth. Empirical evidence of personal growth in the transition to military service has been scant. Transitioning from civilian life to military service can be stressful and even traumatic but it can also provide opportunities for personal development. Our findings shed light on contributors to personal growth in the transition to military service, with both internal and external resources found to help one gain personal growth. It is evident that in order for soldiers to thrive, both perceived social support and active help‐seeking are key factors.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Help-seeking Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%