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Redesigning Research on Post-Traumatic Growth

Challenges, Pitfalls, and New Directions

Frank J. Infurna and Eranda Jayawickreme

Presents cutting-edge research projects pursuing the study of post-traumatic growth (PTG)
Synthesizes insights from philosophy and multiple areas of psychology, including clinical, developmental, health, and personality psychology
Offers new methodology for conducting research that both reduces bias and incorporates cultural sensitivity

Redesigning Research on Post-Traumatic Growth

Challenges, Pitfalls, and New Directions

Frank J. Infurna and Eranda Jayawickreme

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

Redesigning Research on Post-Traumatic Growth

Challenges, Pitfalls, and New Directions

Frank J. Infurna and Eranda Jayawickreme

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 Mendonça

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, Renée 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 Thröstur Björgvinsson

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

Redesigning Research on Post-Traumatic Growth

Challenges, Pitfalls, and New Directions

Frank J. Infurna and Eranda Jayawickreme

Author Information

Frank J. Infurna, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Arizona State University. Dr. Infurna's professional work focuses on resilience to major life stressors and psychosocial factors that contribute to healthy aging outcomes across adulthood and old age. His research on major life stressors has shown that contrary to previous research, resilience is not the modal response to major life stressors, but in fact individuals typically show substantial declines in psychological functioning, followed by gradual improvements near-previous levels.

Eranda Jayawickreme, PhD is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and Senior Research Fellow at the Program for Leadership and Character at Wake Forest University. Dr. Jayawickreme's research focuses on post-traumatic growth as positive personality change, moral personality, wisdom, well-being and integrative theories of personality. His work with populations in Rwanda, Sri Lanka, and the USA has made substantial contributions to further understanding whether and how growth is possible following adversity.

Contributors:

Kinan Alajak, BSc
Utrecht University

Eva Alisic, PhD
University of Melbourne

Michael H. Antoni, PhD
University of Miami

Lara M. Baez, MS
University of Miami

Elana Bayer-Pacht, MA
William James College

Thröstur Björgvinsson, PhD
McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School

Laura E. R. Blackie, PhD
University of Nottingham

Adriel Boals, PhD
University of North Texas

Gustavo Carlo, PhD
University of California

Elaine O. Cheung, PhD
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

William J. Chopik, PhD
Michigan State University

Sy-Miin Chow, PhD
The Pennsylvania State University

Joanne M. Chung, PhD
University of Toronto, Mississauga

J. Doug Coatsworth, PhD
University of Tennessee

Alexandria Curlee, MA
Arizona State University

Anna Dorfman, PhD
University of Waterloo

Ina Fassbender, PhD
Ruhr University Bochum

Sarah C. Flury, MD
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

Marie Forgeard, PhD
William James College
McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School

Molly J. Gardner, BSc
Arizona State University

Nancy A. Gonzales, PhD
Arizona State University

Kevin J. Grimm, PhD
Arizona State University

Igor Grossmann, PhD
University of Waterloo

Aaron S Heller, PhD
University of Miami

Frank J. Infurna, PhD
Arizona State University

Eranda Jayawickreme, PhD
Wake Forest University

Sheetal M. Kircher, MD
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

George P. Knight, PhD
Arizona State University

Shilajit D. Kundu, MD
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Odilia M. Laceulle, PhD
Utrecht University

Maike Luhmann, PhD
Ruhr University Bochum

Gloria Luong, PhD
Colorado State University

Suniya S. Luthar, PhD
Arizona State University
Authentic Connections

Kate C. McLean, PhD
Western Washington University

Sara Etz Mendonça, PhD
Wake Forest University

Patricia I. Moreno, PhD />University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

David A. Moscovitch, PhD
University of Waterloo

Judith T. Moskowitz, PhD, MPH
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Crystal L. Park, PhD
University of Connecticut

Frank J. Penedo, PhD
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Haza F. Rahim, MSc
Utrecht University

Ann Marie Roepke, PhD
Evoke Training and Consulting, PLLC

Zeina Al Sawaf, BA
Utrecht University

Paul J. Silvia, PhD
University of North Carolina Greensboro

Omar E. Staben, MA
Arizona State University

Valerie Tiberius, PhD
University of Minnesota

Rebecca M. B. White, PhD, MPH
Arizona State University

Betina Yanez, PhD
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Jenn Yun-Tein, PhD
Arizona State University

Areti Zikopoulos, MA
William James College
McLean Hospital

Renée Zonneveld, MSc
Tilburg University

Redesigning Research on Post-Traumatic Growth

Challenges, Pitfalls, and New Directions

Frank J. Infurna and Eranda Jayawickreme

Reviews and Awards

"Much of the literature on post-traumatic growth has been immune to methodological critique. This volume does a fantastic job presenting new perspectives that provide a foundation for a robust science of whether and how people can grow and thrive following adversity." -- Howard Tennen, PhD, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor, University of Connecticut

"This is a truly outstanding multidisciplinary volume, containing a wealth of research on the meaning and assessment of post-traumatic growth, and on post-traumatic growth in particular groups and populations. It admirably marries a healthy scepticism about previous findings, and a positive outlook on future approaches. It is essential reading for anyone interested in and working in this area." -- Michael Brady, PhD, Professor of Philosophy and Head of Humanities, University of Glasgow

"This edited volume should be required reading for anyone interested in truly understanding the phenomenon of post-traumatic growth. The research described herein uses cutting edge methods and diverse samples to seriously grapple with the conceptual and methodological issues that have hampered our understanding post-traumatic growth to date." -- Patricia Frazier, PhD, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, University of Minnesota