Abstract:
The relationships of posttraumatic growth to peritraumatic reactions and posttraumatic stress symptoms were examined in 93 Sri Lankan university students who had experienced a traumatic life event. Posttraumatic growth was associated with peritraumatic dissociation and posttraumatic stress symptoms, but was not associated with peritraumatic emotional distress. Results indicated a curvilinear relationship between peritraumatic dissociation
and posttraumatic growth and between posttraumatic stress symptoms and posttraumatic growth. In a regression
model predicting posttraumatic growth scores, each of the quadratic relationships of peritraumatic dissociation
and posttraumatic stress symptoms to posttraumatic growth were statistically significant, and combined accounted
for 22% of the variance. Results suggest that moderate levels of peritraumatic dissociation and symptoms are most
associated with the greatest levels of growth.
