Posttraumatic Growth and Its Relationship With Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms Following Wildfires: A Longitudinal Study

After a traumatic event, several people are resilient, and some might even experience posttraumatic growth (PTG), that is, positive changes that occur after a life crisis. According to Tedeschi and Calhoun's model (2004), growth after a traumatic event is influenced by one's level of distress, their cognitions, coping strategies, and social support. However, the literature shows inconsistent findings about this model and about the positive impacts of PTG on individuals' daily lives. Moreover, the relationship between PTG and daily functioning is not well understood. The objectives were to describe how PTG and daily functioning evolve over time after a disaster, to test whether posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity can predict PTG and whether PTG can predict daily functioning longitudinally and to explore the contribution of posttraumatic cognitions, coping strategies, and perceived social support in the relationship between PTSD symptom severity and PTG. Evacuees from the 2016 Fort McMurray fires (n = 384) completed self-report questionnaires 4 times over a 2-year period after the fires. Results revealed that PTG and daily functioning remained stable up to 3 years after the fires. PTSD symptom severity and functioning disability positively predicted PTG at certain timepoints. No indirect effects were found, indicating that posttraumatic cognitions, social support, and coping strategies could not explain the relationship between PTSD symptom severity and PTG. This study provides partial support for Tedeschi and Calhoun's theory that some distress is necessary for PTG to occur and supports the need to find ways to help disaster survivors improve their functioning.