Coping and rumination as predictors of posttraumatic growth and depreciation

Abstract

Purpose: The present study examined the joint impact of coping and rumination after trauma on posttraumatic growth (PTG) and posttraumatic depreciation (PTD) based on the PTG model. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between October 2017 and May 2018. A sample of 253 individuals who had experienced a traumatic event in the last two years, was included. Participants completed an online self-reported survey, including demographic variables, trauma characteristics, the German Posttraumatic Growth and Depreciation Inventory – Expanded, the Brief COPE Inventory, and the Event Related Rumination Inventory. An analysis of correlation, a principal component analysis and hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. Statistical analyses were undertaken on SPSS (version 25.0; IBM, New York, USA). Results: After controlling for the effects of personal and trauma characteristics, self-sufficient coping and socially supported coping were found to favor the emergence of PTG. Event-related and recent deliberate rumination were positively related to PTG. Avoidant-focused coping and recent intrusive rumination were positively associated with PTD. Overall, the final models accounted for 46% and 58% of the variance in PTG and PTD. Conclusion: Our findings confirm the PTG model and support the central role of deliberate rumination, self-sufficient coping and socially supported coping in the development of PTG. Our results indicate that a similar model of PTD with comparable influencing factors can be assumed: if the individual is stuck in ongoing intrusive rumination and uses more avoidance-focused coping, it might lead to more reports of PTD.

Keywords

• Posttraumatic growth
• Posttraumatic depreciation
• Coping
• Rumination