A model of posttraumatic growth: Personality, social support, and coping.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate a comprehensive model of posttraumatic growth in a population of individuals with a history of heart disease. In particular, this study examined the roles of personality factors and social support satisfaction in predicting posttraumatic growth directly, as well as indirectly through the mediating variables of coping mechanisms. It was hypothesized that the broad personality factors of the Five-Factor model, and social support satisfaction, would be highly predictive of posttraumatic growth. Furthermore, it was expected that these variables would predict outcome by influencing coping mechanisms. Participants were 110 individuals (28 from the US, 82 from the UK) with a history of heart disease (myocardial infarction and/or coronary artery bypass surgery), with an average time of 5 years since diagnosis. Posttraumatic growth and other psychosocial variables were assessed by means of standardized self-report measures. The results indicated that participants experienced moderate levels of posttraumatic growth. The most significant predictor of growth was Extraversion, and there was evidence that Problem-Focused Coping partially mediated the relationship between Extraversion and Posttraumatic Growth. These findings are consistent with prior research and theory. However, the role of social support satisfaction in predicting posttraumatic growth remains unclear, and it is suggested that alternative conceptualizations of social support may be more useful in future studies.
The findings emphasize the importance of coping factors in psychological interventions aimed at improving the adjustment and posttraumatic growth of individuals with a history of heart disease.