Trauma Type and Posttrauma Outcomes: Differences Between Survivors of Motor Vehicle Accidents, Sexual Assault, and Bereavement

Abstract

Research examining posttrauma pathology indicates negative outcomes can differ as a function of the type of trauma experienced. Such research has yet to be published when looking at positive posttrauma changes. Ninety-four survivors of trauma, forming three groups, completed the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory and Impact of Events Scale-Revised. Groups comprised survivors of (a) sexual abuse, (b) motor vehicle accidents, and (c) bereavement. Results indicated differences in growth between the groups, with the bereaved reporting higher levels of growth than other survivors and sexual abuse survivors demonstrating higher levels of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms than the other groups. However, this did not preclude sexual abuse survivors from also reporting moderate levels of growth. Results are discussed with relation to fostering growth through clinical practice.

Notes

Note. Standard deviations are in parentheses.

∗p < .05 (2-tailed).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jane Shakespeare-Finch

Jane Shakespeare-Finch is an academic in the School of Psychology and Counselling at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. She teaches a variety of topics, including health psychology, personality, and culture and psychology as well as clinical communication skills to student paramedics, and her primary area of research is posttraumatic growth.

Deanne Armstrong

Deanne Armstrong has a master's degree in clinical psychology and, in addition to her clinical work, she also holds a position in the School of Psychology and Counselling at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. Her research interest in posttraumatic growth was fueled by a desire to work clinically with traumatized individuals and to integrate a more balanced approach to responding to trauma as opposed to the traditional pathogenic paradigm.