Dynamic interplay between PTSD symptoms and posttraumatic growth in older military veterans

•This study examined posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and posttraumatic growth in a nationally representative cohort of 2006 older U.S. veterans over a four-year period.•Autoregressive cross-lagged panel regression analyses revealed that posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms had strong associations with both current and subsequent posttraumatic growth.•Results of this study suggest that greater severity of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, particularly avoidance and hyperarousal symptoms, may contribute to and maintain posttraumatic growth over time in older veterans.•Deliberate, constructive attempts to manage chronic posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms via active coping and religious coping may help promote greater posttraumatic growth over time in this population.