Factors affecting posttraumatic growth among college students

Abstract

Background: College students experience emotional trauma and post-traumatic growth throughout their lives. However, there are few studies that identified the types of traumatic events, and the factors contributing to their positive growth through events among college students.

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to investigate factors affecting posttraumatic growth among college students.

Methods: The study is a cross-sectional descriptive survey, and measured the traumatic events experienced, distress, big five personality factors (neuroticism, extroversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness), deliberate rumination, and posttraumatic growth on 305 college students. To find out the influencing factors on the posttraumatic growth, multiple regression analysis was performed.

Results: The constructed model for posttraumatic growth showed that statistically significant explanatory variables were religion, deliberate rumination, agreeableness, neuroticism, and extroversion and the model including these variables has 43.1% explanatory power on posttraumatic growth (F=45.33, p<.001).

Conclusion: It is necessary to carry out the assessment and intervention of psychological state after the traumatic accidents of college students. In addition, it is needed to develop an intervention program that they utilize their spirituality and characteristics and use deliberate rumination.