Six-Year Longitudinal Predictors of Posttraumatic Growth in Parentally Bereaved Adolescents and Young Adults

摘要

Using the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, we examined posttraumatic growth in a sample of 50 adolescents and young adults who had experienced parental death in childhood or adolescence. Prospective longitudinal relations over a six year period were examined between measures of demographics, youth’s intrusive grief-related thoughts, appraisals, intrapersonal coping processes, interpersonal coping processes, mental health problems and social adaptation outcomes, and the growth subscales (i.e., New Possibilities, Relating to Others, Personal Strengths, Spiritual Changes and Appreciation of Life). Controlling for youth age, time since death, and cause of death, the set of intrapersonal coping processes explained a medium amount of variance in New Possibilities and Personal Strength subscales. A medium amount of variance in New Possibilities, Personal Strength, and Relating to Others was explained by the set of interpersonal coping processes.