Posttraumatic stress symptoms and posttraumatic growth in a community sample exposed to stressful events: a (not so) curvilinear relationship

The relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) has been extensively debated, with evidence supporting that negative and positive outcomes may coexist simultaneously. However, literature consensus has yet to be reached regarding whether the nature of the relationship between these variables is better explained through a linear or curvilinear relationship. In the present study, we examined the psychometric properties of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory and tested the linear and curvilinear relationship between PTG and PTSD. Participants were 315 adults, with a mean age of 34.66 years (SD = 10.90), and ranged in age between 18 and 68 years; 144 (45.7%) participants were male and 171 (54.3%) were female who had experienced a potentially trauma or adverse event and had a level of education lower than the university education level. The original 5-factor structure of the PTGI was maintained, with satisfactory internal consistency. Exploratory data analysis showed a violation of the normality assumption because the sample reported low levels of PTSD. We used the bootstrap method, which gives an estimate of the sampling distribution (Field, 2018). Results showed a linear positive relationship between PTSD symptoms and PTG, after adjusting for sociodemographic variables. A curvilinear relationship between these variables was not found in the present sample. An overall small positive relationship was found between each PTSD subscale (Intrusion, Avoidance, and Arousal) and the 5 PTGI factors. This study found that PTSD and PTG can coexist. Implications for practice and recommendation for future research are discussed.
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