پژوهشنامه روانشناسی مثبت (Aug 2023)
Developing a Post-Traumatic Growth Model Based on Emotional Schemas among Women Mourning the Death of Their Spouse Due to Corona Disease: The Mediating Role of Self-Compassion
Abstract
The death of a spouse can have many psychological consequences. In such a situation, some people may experience post-traumatic growth despite facing a painful event. Therefore, it is important to identify the factors involved in this phenomenon. The present study was conducted with the aim of developing a model of post-traumatic growth based on emotional schemas with the mediating role of self-compassion among women mourning the death of their husbands due to corona disease. The design of the study was descriptive-correlation and structural equation modeling. The sample consisted of 330 women mourning the death of their husband due to corona disease, who responded to questionnaires of post-traumatic growth, emotional schemas, and self-compassion. Pearson's correlation coefficient and structural equation method were used to analyze the data. According to the results, the direct effect of uncontrollability, irrationality, non-acceptance of emotions, guilt, expressing emotions and seeking approval on self-compassion and post-traumatic growth and the direct effect of self-compassion on post-traumatic growth were significant. The indirect effect of uncontrollability, irrationality, non-acceptance of emotions, guilt, expressing emotions and seeking approval on post-traumatic growth was significant. Therefore, self-compassion had a significant role as a mediating variable in the relationship between emotional schemas and post-traumatic growth. According to the results, it can be said that in order to promote post-traumatic growth in bereaved people, it is possible to design interventions based on the modification of emotional schemas and self-compassion. IntroductionSince 2019, the coronavirus has increasingly spread throughout the world. Despite the extensive measures to contain that, contracting this virus has caused the loss of many people (Nasrollahzadeh Sabet et al., 2020). In this epidemic disease, many women face a traumatic situation due to the loss of their husbands, which can be a turning point in their lives (Drefahl et al., 2020). According to the evidence, some people who faced trauma report intrapersonal growth, which is referred to as post-traumatic growth (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004). Post-traumatic growth appears when trying to cope with a distressing situation. It helps a person control psychological and ultimately to a broader sense of wisdom (Park & Jeong, 2022). It seems that emotional schemas are one of the factors that affect post-traumatic growth. Emotional schemas refer to the beliefs that each person has about appropriate actions against unpleasant emotions (Leahy, 2002). People evaluate their experiences based on the content of their emotional schemas and distorted interpretation causes various mental disorders (Edwards & Wupperman, 2019). It seems that emotional schema predicts mental health through an effect on self-compassion. Self-compassion is an optimistic attitude towards oneself in unpleasant situations, which is a decisive factor in protecting a person from problems by increasing the level of resilience (Wilson et al., 2022). When facing failure, people with high self-compassion treat themselves with kindness and instead of blaming themselves, accept them without any judgment. Accordingly, this study examined the mediating role of self-compassion in the relationship between emotional schemas and post-traumatic growth in women grieving the death of a spouse. MethodThis present study was a descriptive-correlational research and used structural equation modeling to investigate the relationship between the variables. The statistical population of the research included all women who mourned the death of their husbands due to corona disease in the 5th district of Tehran. Using purposive sampling, 330 people were selected according to the entry and exit criteria. The entry criteria include the age range of 20 to 70 years, a mourning period of at least 6 months, consent to participate in the study, not having a mental disorder (diagnosed by a psychologist or psychiatrist) or a history of drug and alcohol addiction, and no history of divorce and remarriage. Exclusion criteria included dissatisfaction with participating in the study and defects in the questionnaires. The data were collected using the Post-Traumatic Growth Questionnaire of Tedeschi and Calhoun (1996), Leahy's Questionnaire of emotional schemas (2002), and Neff's self-compassion (2003). ResultsThe results indicated that post-traumatic growth with self-compassion (0.30) had a significant positive relationship. Post-traumatic growth with the components of being uncontrollable, irrational, accepting emotions, seeking approval, guilt, expressing emotions had a significant negative relationship. Goodness was used to determine the adequacy of the proposed model with the data, the results of which are reported in Table 1. Table1 Model fit Indices of the Mediating Role of Self-Compassion in the Relationship between Post-Traumatic Growth and Emotional SchemasX2dfPX2/dfRMSEAGFIAGFICFITLIIFINFI52.7418<0.052.920.0770.910.970.900.940.910.96 According to the value of the model fit evaluation indices in Table 1, it can be concluded that the model fit the data well. Table2 Standard and Unstandardized Coefficients of Significant Direct Paths of the Hypothesized Model of the Mediating Role of Self-Compassion in the Relationship between Post-Traumatic Growth and Emotional SchemasPathsBβStandard errorCritical ratioP Direct effect of uncontrollability on self-compassion-0.48-0.210.103-5.120.001Direct effect of irrationality on self-compassion-0.52-0.240.110-6.010.001The direct effect of not accepting emotions on the shaft itself-0.66-0.370.115-13.110.001The direct effect of guilt on self-compassion-0.40-0.150.013-3.870.004The direct effect of expressing emotions on self-compassion-0.42-0.180.014-4.440.001Direct effect of approval seeking on self-compassion-0.36-0.140.025-3.280.006The direct effect of uncontrollability on posttraumatic growth-0.47-0.210.032-5.310.001The direct effect of irrationality on posttraumatic growth-0.43-0.230.016-5.960.001The direct effect of non-acceptance of emotions on post-traumatic growth-0.62-0.280.128-9.940.001The direct effect of guilt on posttraumatic growth-0.59-0.330.121-12.180.001The direct effect of emotional expression on posttraumatic growth-0.51-0.270.105-9.730.001The direct effect of approval seeking on posttraumatic growth-0.55-0.290.01110.290.001The direct effect of self-compassion on posttraumatic growth0.610.320.01712.070.001 *P<0.05 ** P<0.01 To test the significance of the hypotheses, two partial indices of the critical ratio CR and P were used. Based on the significance level of 0.05, the critical value must be greater than 1.96 or less than -1.96. Also, values smaller than 0.05 for the P value indicate a significant difference between the value calculated for the regression weights and the zero value at the 95% level. Based on the mentioned indicators (Table 2), the regression weights were significant at the 0.001 level. Also, the evaluation of the indirect effect using the bootstrap method showed that the indirect effect of emotional schemas on post-traumatic growth was mediated by self-compassion. DiscussionAccording to the results of the present study, the components of emotional schemas, including uncontrollability, irrationality, non-acceptance of emotions, seeking-approval, and guilt had a significant negative relationship with post-traumatic growth in women mourning the death of their husbands due to corona disease. In explaining this finding, it should be stated that what puts a person on the path of growth after the trauma is facing reality and experiencing emotions, which leads to modifying the person's attitude towards life and successful adaptation (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004). Some people, after facing a traumatic event, without ignoring the experience of psychological damage, appear with positive changes (Faustino & Vasco, 2021). A person who appears with an approval-seeking schema in the face of his emotions is always worried that others may become emotionally aware (Leahy, 2002). Such a suppressive process that deprives a person of the opportunity to express emotion, blocks the path of inner growth. According to the results of the present study, self-compassion had a significant positive relationship with post-traumatic growth and a mediating role in the relationship between emotional schemas and post-traumatic growth. To experience self-compassion, you must first acknowledge the existence of pain (Kharatzadeh et al., 2018). According to studies, avoiding emotions and not being aware of them is the most important cause of psychological problems (Wilson et al., 2022). In this regard, it has been shown that people with high self-compassion have the attitude that they are unconditionally worthy of love even with their flaws.One of the limitations of the current study is the sample included individuals with a wide age range from 20 to 70 years old, which could affect the results of this study as a confounding factor. It is suggested to control for the participants’ age in future studies. Ethical Consideration Compliance with Ethical Guidelines: In order to comply with ethics in the research, the condition of informed consent was considered to participate in the research. The participants were assured that their information would remain confidential.Authors’ Contributions: All authors contributed to perform the study.Conflict of Interest: There is no conflict of interest in this study.Funding: This study was conducted with no financial support.Acknowledgment: The authors are grateful to the research participants who cooperated in the present project. *. Corresponding author
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