Year: 2019
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background: Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) refers to positive shifts after living a traumatic crisis.This work investigated the question if the PTG concept has a universal status by examining if proposed outcomes have been found in different cultures and if the main research tool, the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI; Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996, 2004) has constituted an appropriate measurement for cross-cultural inquiries.Culture biases of cross-cultural PTG research, considerations of sociocultural influences on PTG and studies which went along with these implications were portrayed.Against this background a survey in PTG outcomes was conducted in Sierra Leone, West Africa.Objective: The aim of the study was to explore various dimensions of posttraumatic growth in Sierra Leone with participants from all along the country's population strata.Methods: To comply with the directions concerning culture sensitivity, a mixed methods design with a convergent parallel strategy was applied.Quantitatively, data from 183 participants who completed the latest PTGI version, the PTGI-X (Tedeschi, Cann, Taku, Senol-Durak & Calhoun, 2017), was used to identify proposed dimensions of growth.Qualitatively, findings from 15 in-depth interviews were evaluated according to Grounded Theory.All participants fulfilled DSM-5 Criterion A potentially traumatic events.Results: Exploratory factor analysis could not replicate the five proposed PTGI-X factors and showed various inconsistencies without a comprehensible fit.The results proved the measurement's total score, with a high prevalence of PTG for the investigated Sierra Leonean sample, as the most appropriate quantitative indicator.The qualitative investigation revealed various dimensions of growth with additional and more specific facets to the PTG conceptualization and a new dimension focusing on collective PTG.Conclusion: A 6-dimensional, more comprehensive model of PTG with various subcategories was introduced for Sierra Leone by merging quantitative and qualitative data at the stage of discussion.Implications: The results gave further affirming answers to the question if the PTG conceptualization has a universal status and also first profound insights into posttraumatic growth experiences in Sierra Leone, first reports of the questionnaire's application in this part of the world, as well as a first investigation in the questionnaire's recent extension and directions for further research about PTG in West Africa.Special thanks to Mr. Aruna Kamara BSc.(Freetown Teachers College) for the constant support and being my mentor.And sometimes my surrogate father on this vast African continent.
Author: Steidl, Andreas
Institution: Universität Innsbruck
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7023761855