| Abstract [eng] |
Relationship Between Traumatic Experience, Post-Traumatic Phenomena and Emotion Regulation Strategies, Pojauta Vilkauskaitė, Vilnius, Vilnius University, 2019, 67 p. The experience of traumatic event is followed by negative and positive post-traumatic phenomena. It seems that post-traumatic growth (PTG) should reflect the signs of successful recovery from trauma and, therefore, be associated with a reduction of negative post-traumatic phenomena. However, the results of the research reveal a different tendency: the higher the post-traumatic growth, the more features of post-traumatic stress disorder. In the theoretical areas investigating PTG phenomenon, the discussion is rising about the potential adaptive and non-adaptive side of post-traumatic growth. The purpose of this study is to test the relationship between PTG, distress (depression, stress, anxiety), emotion regulation (cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression) and number of traumatic events and evaluate the mediating effect of emotion regulation of the relationship between PTG and distress. The final sample of participants was 201 young adults between the age of 18 and 30 (M = 23,7; SD = 2,71; 59 % female; 41% male), that have experienced at least one traumatic event that occurred over a year ago. The majority of participants lived in metropolitan areas (73,4 %). About half of all participants were either currently employed (53,2 %) or a student (48,8 %). 56,2 % of all participants had a university degree. In this study the following information was collected: demographic variables, Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ), Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), Depression Anxiety Stress scales (DASS – 42), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire. Our study results showed that the number of traumatic events was positively associated with PTG, distress, expressive suppression but it was not associated with cognitive reappraisal. Post traumatic growth was positively associated with distress, cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. Distress was positively associated with expressive suppression but it was not associated with cognitive reappraisal. Expressive suppression fully mediated relationship between PTG and distress. So the results of our study contribute to theories that try to justify the hypothesis that post-traumatic growth has not only an adaptive part but also a non-adaptive part in recovering after trauma. |
