Main description:

The literature on post-traumatic growth (PTG) has been instrumental in highlighting the human capacity to overcome adversity, illuminating the different pathways people may follow when confronted with adversity. Although the theme of strength from adversity is central to many disciplines and certain cultural narratives, these claims lack robust empirical evidence. This literature gap can be traced to a reliance on retrospective assessments for methodology and
difficulty in determining which outcomes are most appropriate for studying PTG.

Redesigning Research on Post-Traumatic Growth offers new directions for PTG research. The book illustrates the benefits of research designs that incorporate multiple methods of assessment and highlights the value of integrating various disciplines, such as philosophy and multiple areas of psychology (e.g., clinical, developmental, health, and personality) for more holistic understanding of the human capacity to overcome adversity. The book is divided into four sections: current
challenges in examining PTG, methodological advancements, research in specific populations, and opportunities for further research. Introductory chapters identify the limits of traditional PTG assessments and find solutions in prospective longitudinal studies. From here, this methodology is put into practice with
unique case examples from studies with Syrian refugees, older adults, and couples coping with a cancer diagnosis. The book concludes with calls for further research on event characteristics of adversity, as well as narrative identity, wisdom, and open-mindedness as key growth outcomes. Redesigning Research on Post-Traumatic Growth will serve as the starting point for the next generation of research on PTG

Contents:

1. Growth and the Multiple Dimensions of Well-Being: A Philosopher's Take on the Idea of Post-Traumatic Growth
Valerie Tiberius

2. Current Assessment and Interpretation of Perceived Post-Traumatic Growth
Crystal L. Park and Adriel Boals

3. Post-Traumatic Growth Interventions
Ann Marie Roepke, Areti Zikopoulos, and Marie Forgeard

4. Using Dynamic Personality Theories, Cognitive Neuroscience, and mHealth to Uncover the Process of Post-Traumatic Personality Change in Women with Breast Cancer
Lara M. Baez, Michael H. Antoni, and Aaron S. Heller

5. Using Methods from Personality Psychology to Study Post-Traumatic Growth
Eranda Jayawickreme and Sara Etz Mendonca

6. Emotions and Positive Personality Change in Syrian Origin Young Adults Who Have Recently Resettled in the Netherlands
Odilia M. Laceulle, Kinan Alajak, Eva Alisic, Zeina Al Sawaf, Haza F. Rahim, Renee Zonneveld, Joanne M. Chung

7. Post-Traumatic Growth in Later Adulthood: Disentangling Shorter-and Longer-Term Changes Following Transitions into Senior Housing Facilities
Gloria Luong, J. Doug Coatsworth, and Sy-Miin Chow

8. Prospectively Examining the Effects of a Cancer Diagnosis on Patients, Spouses/Partners, and their Relationship
Elaine O. Cheung, Frank J. Penedo, Judith T. Moskowitz, Betina Yanez, Sheetal M. Kircher, Shilajit D. Kundu, Sarah C. Flury, and Patricia I. Moreno

9. Using Culturally and Contextually Informed Theorizing in Research on Post-Traumatic Growth
Rebecca M. B. White, Gustavo Carlo, George P. Knight, Jenn Yun-Tein, Nancy A. Gonzales, and Alexandria Curlee

10. Modeling Growth and Resilience among Military Personnel: How Using Different Models Yields Different Answers
William J. Chopik

11. Studying Post-Traumatic Growth across the Adult Lifespan: Conceptual and Methodological Considerations
Omar E. Staben, Molly J. Gardner, Frank J. Infurna, Suniya S. Luthar, and Kevin J. Grimm

12. Considering Characteristics of Events in Research on Post-Traumatic Growth
Maike Luhmann and Ina Fassbender

13. Openness to Experience and Post-Traumatic Growth
Marie Forgeard, Elana Bayer-Pacht, Paul J. Silvia, Ann Marie Roepke, and Throestur Bjoergvinsson

14. The Relationship between Narration and Character Growth after Interpersonal Failures and Transgressions
Laura E. R. Blackie and Kate C. McLean

15. Pathways from Adversity to Wisdom
Anna Dorfman, David A. Moscovitch, and Igor Grossmann

16. Redesigning Research on Post-Traumatic Growth: Current Knowledge and New Directions
Frank J. Infurna and Eranda Jayawickreme