Posttraumatic Growth in Parents After a Natural Disaster

Abstract

Posttraumatic growth (PTG) was examined in Norwegian parents 2.5 years after they were exposed, together with their children, to the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami. Parents reported on their own and their children's disaster exposure and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) 10 months post-disaster. Children reported their own PTSS. Multiple regression analyses showed that children's distress 10 months post-disaster predicted parental PTG 1 year later, over and above the effects of parents’ own distress and disaster exposure. This study demonstrates that stress and vulnerability related to parenting in and after a disaster situation may contribute to PTG.

Acknowledgments

The work in this article was funded by the Norwegian Directorate of Health.

Notes

Note. PTSS = posttraumatic stress symptoms; PTG = posttraumatic growth.

^a During the disaster.

*p < .05; **p < .01.

Note. R ²  = .32. ΔR ² = change in explained variance for each additional step. Standardized regression coefficients are presented and controlled for parent gender and child age. PTSS = posttraumatic stress symptoms.

*p < .05; **p < .01.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Johan Siqveland

Johan Siqveland is a clinical psychologist working as a special advisor in suicide prevention. His research interests include suicidal behavior, posttraumatic adaptations, and autobiographical memory.

Gertrud Sofie Hafstad

Gertrud Sofie Hafstad obtained her PhD in psychotraumatology in 2011 and currently holds a postdoctoral position at the Norwegian Institute of Public health. Her main research interests include issues related to psychological trauma, eating disorders, and forensic psychology.

Richard G. Tedeschi

Richard G. Tedeschi is a professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he teaches personality and psychotherapy. He has published several books on posttraumatic growth, including Trauma and Transformation, Posttraumatic Growth, Facilitating Posttraumatic Growth, and the Handbook of Posttraumatic Growth.