Exploring the Psychological Benefits of Hardship: A Critical Reassessment of Posttraumatic Growth

Can adversity lead to enduring positive change across the lifespan? Providing a thoughtful and considered exploration of this question, this book presents a critical reassessment of posttraumatic growth, based on correcting prior theoretical and methodological limitations in the current research. It puts forward its core argument that posttraumatic growth should be reconceptualized as positive personality change, and thus should be studied using novel methodological approaches from the field of personality psychology.

Broadly, the book is comprised of five sections. It begins by giving a conceptual and interdisciplinary overview of posttraumatic growth as a phenomenon. Then, reviews how psychological research has conceptualized and assessed posttraumatic growth and makes a case for a ‘reset’ in the research’ the next section argues that posttraumatic growth is personality change, and should be studied as such. The following two sections look at posttraumatic growth in context, both in the long term, such as in the development of reflective knowledge and wisdom, and in specific situations such as the current crisis in Sri Lanka and survivors of the Rwandan genocide.  Finally, the book concludes by offering recommendations for scholars and researchers  that will improve the quality of research on posttraumatic growth, and will move this important and worthy field forward.