A Sense of Growth Among Teenagers After Hurting Others: A Potential Application of Posttraumatic Growth Theory

Abstract

Research on psychological growth after suffering has focused on survivors and victims of trauma and has largely ignored those who are not on the receiving end. The current study aimed to understand the sense of growth adolescents may experience as a result of hurting others by applying the theoretical model of posttraumatic growth. Adolescents completed a series of questions. Results demonstrated, consistent with the model, the more central the events were to the adolescents and the more they deliberately thought about the event, the more growth they reported. However, neither social support nor intrusive rumination were associated with growth. These findings demonstrate that some factors associated with personal growth after hurting others overlap with the theoretical model.

Keywords:

• Growth
• adolescents
• hurting others
• wrongdoer
• PTG

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shelby Jane Seyburn

Shelby Jane Seyburn was an undergraduate student in the Department of Psychology at Oakland University, Michigan, who initiated this research project with the second and third authors. Her area of interest was posttraumatic growth, resilience, and social support. This article is dedicated to Shelby Seyburn, who died in a tragic car accident in 2017.

Leah LaLonde

Leah Lalonde is a graduate student of the Department of Psychology at Eastern Michigan University, Michigan. Her area of interest is clinical psychology.

Kanako Taku

Kanako Taku is an associate professor of psychology at Oakland University, Michigan. Her area of specialization is clinical, social, and personality psychology.