Functional significance of posttraumatic growth in U.S. military veterans.

BACKGROUND: Although many studies indicate that individuals who have experienced a traumatic event can experience posttraumatic growth (PTG), some researchers have questioned the significance of PTG in associations with functioning. The role of PTG in functioning following trauma may be better elucidated by accounting for its joint effects with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. METHODS: Data were analyzed from the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study, which surveyed a nationally representative sample of 3847 trauma-exposed U.S. veterans. Participants completed assessments of potentially traumatic events, PTSD symptoms, and PTG, as well as a broad range of sociodemographic, military, trauma, health, personality, and psychosocial characteristics. RESULTS: PTG was independently and moderately associated with higher mental, cognitive, and psychosocial functioning, but not physical functioning. Results showed a similar pattern of findings when examining relations between subdomains of PTG and these aspects of functioning. Additionally, among veterans who screened positive for PTSD, those who endorsed PTG reported higher levels of mental, cognitive, and/or psychosocial functioning than those who did not endorse PTG. LIMITATIONS: Findings may be limited by the use of a cross-sectional design, retrospective self-reports of PTG, and a predominantly older white male veteran sample. CONCLUSION: Results provide support for the functional significance of PTG and highlight the importance of considering PTSD symptoms to better understand the role of PTG in functioning. Clinical interventions to foster PTG may help promote post-trauma functioning.

Positive biases and psychological functioning during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Many individuals have experienced a multitude of chronic stressors and diminished psychological functioning during COVID-19. The current study examined whether biases towards positive social media or positive autobiographical memories was related to increases in psychological functioning during COVID-19. Participants were 1071 adults (Mage = 46.31; 58% female; 78% White) recruited from MTurk. Participants reported on their social media consumption and autobiographical recall, positive and negative affect, and dysphoria symptoms. Results indicated that, at the first assessment collected in the spring and summer of 2020, positively biased social media consumption was cross-sectionally related to higher levels of positive affect, and positively biased autobiographical recall was cross-sectionally related to lower levels of negative affect and dysphoria symptoms. Sensitivity analyses examined cross-sectional relations from a second assessment collected in fall 2020, and prospective cross-lagged analyses. The findings point to potential psychological benefits of positive biases during chronic stressors.

Is It Time for "Time-In"?: A Pilot Test of the Child-Rearing Technique.

Time-out, a mainstay of non-punitive discipline for over 60 years, has been criticized for isolating and distancing children from others. An alternative technique, one promoted by advocates of positive parenting practices, is labeled "time-in". This procedure is intended to help the child connect to the parent, communicate their feelings, and learn how to self-regulate. Although the technique has been advocated in the positive parenting literature since at least the 1990s, there are few empirical studies evaluating it. This pilot mixed-models study was designed as an initial test to determine whether mothers, following a brief training, would use the procedure over a two-week period, and how they would view it. Based on the daily reports as well as post-intervention interview of a small sample of mothers, the technique was evaluated as easy to use and effective. This study provides initial information about mothers' use of the technique and sets the stage for a comprehensive set of studies to rigorously test and evaluate the technique.

Physical and psychological intimate partner violence: Relations with child threat appraisals and internalizing and externalizing symptoms.

This study examined whether interparental physical and psychological intimate partner violence (IPV) have additive effects on child threat appraisals and internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and whether relations between psychological IPV and child difficulties differ when physical IPV has occurred, as compared to when it has not occurred. Participants were 531 children (51% male) aged 7-10 years and their mothers. Children reported on IPV, and on their threat appraisals; children and mothers both reported on child internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Families participated in three assessments spaced 6 months apart. Results indicated that physical and psychological IPV had additive effects on child threat appraisals and child reports of disruptive behavior problems, but not on other measures of child internalizing or externalizing symptoms. Results of moderator analyses indicated that relations between psychological IPV and mothers' reports of child internalizing symptoms, and between psychological IPV and child reports of disruptive behavior problems were stronger when physical IPV had occurred. Notably, psychological IPV was also associated with child threat appraisals, anxiety symptoms, and disruptive behavior problems even in the absence of physical IPV. The findings suggest that in child and family research and service settings, when aspects of the interparental relationship are relevant, the risks posed by psychological IPV should be considered. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Cognitive biases in perceptions of posttraumatic growth: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Posttraumatic growth (PTG) has captivated the attention of clinicians and researchers over the past three decades. However, accumulating evidence suggests that individuals' self-reports of PTG may be cognitively biased. In the current systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to investigate the relation between cognitive biases and perceived PTG. In line with existing theory on cognitive biases that may lead to illusory perceived PTG, we examined the following cognitive biases: defensiveness, memory bias, downward comparison bias, social desirability bias, positive attention bias, and growth beliefs. Forty-seven studies met criteria for inclusion in this review and 66 separate effects were coded for meta-analyses. Results indicated that cognitive biases were related to perceived PTG, with variation by type of cognitive bias. Moderator analyses revealed that downward comparison bias, positive attention bias, and growth beliefs exhibited stronger relations with perceived PTG than did defensiveness, memory bias, and social desirability bias. Further, subgroup analyses explored effects by type of cognitive bias and characteristics of cognitive bias measurements. The current study suggests that cognitive biases may have a role in individuals' perceptions of their PTG. This contributes to theory on the origins of illusory perceptions of PTG and provides direction for improvements to the measurement of PTG and clinical approaches to PTG.

Families seeking services for sexual abuse: Intimate partner violence, mothers' psychological distress, and mother-adolescent conflict.

Child sexual abuse (CSA) and intimate partner violence (IPV) are both global problems with negative health implications. This study examines whether mothers' lifetime experiences of IPV relate to their own psychological distress and to mother-adolescent conflict in families in which an adolescent has disclosed sexual abuse. The recency of IPV was examined as a potential moderator of these relations. Participants were 356 adolescents and their nonoffending mothers. Families were seeking services from a children's advocacy center in the southern United States. Mothers reported their IPV victimization (both lifetime and past month) and symptoms of psychological distress; mothers and adolescents both reported on mother-adolescent conflict. In bivariate analyses, mothers' lifetime experiences of IPV were positively related to mothers' psychological distress, and to mother and adolescent reports of mother-adolescent conflict. These same relations emerged in regression analyses that controlled for characteristics of the sexual abuse (time between the disclosure of CSA and the assessment, severity, relationship to the alleged perpetrator, duration), and adolescent age and sex. Recency of IPV did not moderate these relations. In exploratory analyses, mothers' lifetime experiences of IPV were more strongly associated with mother-son conflict than with mother-daughter conflict. In addition, mothers' psychological distress partially mediated the relation between their lifetime experiences of IPV and their reports of mother-adolescent conflict. The findings point to the potential utility of conducting IPV screenings with caregivers in families seeking services for an adolescent after a sexual abuse disclosure. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Caregiver and divine support: Associations with resilience among adolescents following disclosure of sexual abuse.

BACKGROUND: Social support is believed to be important for fostering adolescent resilience following sexual abuse. Caregiver support is often examined as a source of support for adolescents, but divine support (support from God or a higher power) has received scant research attention. OBJECTIVE: This study examines relations of caregiver support and divine support with resilience following adolescent sexual abuse. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Participants were 548 adolescents aged 11-17 (Mage = 13.78; 91% female) and their non-offending caregivers (Mage = 39.68; 79% mothers). Families were recruited from a children's advocacy center located in the southern United States following a disclosure of sexual abuse. METHODS: Adolescents completed measures of caregiver and divine support and their social and academic functioning; caregivers and adolescents reported on adolescent psychological functioning. Resilience was operationalized as the absence of clinical levels of psychological symptoms together with the presence of adaptive levels of social and academic functioning. RESULTS: Both caregiver support (r = .19, p < .001) and divine support (r = .14, p = .001) were positively associated with resilience. Considered together in regression analyses, caregiver support (OR = 1.02, p = .001) and divine support (OR = 1.06, p = .04) were both associated with resilience. CONCLUSION: Clinicians and researchers should consider the potential contribution of caregiver and divine support to adolescent resilience following sexual abuse.

Age-specific associations between oestradiol, cortico-amygdalar structural covariance, and verbal and spatial skills.

Oestradiol is known to play an important role in the developing human brain, although little is known about the entire network of potential regions that might be affected and how these effects may vary from childhood to early adulthood, which in turn can explain sexually differentiated behaviours. In the present study, we examined the relationships between oestradiol, cortico-amygdalar structural covariance, and cognitive or behavioural measures typically showing sex differences (verbal/spatial skills, anxious-depressed symptomatology) in 152 children and adolescents (aged 6-22 years). Cortico-amygdalar structural covariance shifted from positive to negative across the age range. Oestradiol was found to diminish the impact of age on cortico-amygdalar covariance for the pre-supplementary motor area/frontal eye field and retrosplenial cortex (across the age range), as well as for the posterior cingulate cortex (in older children). Moreover, the influence of oestradiol on age-related cortico-amygdalar networks was associated with higher word identification and spatial working memory (across the age range), as well as higher reading comprehension (in older children), although it did not impact anxious-depressed symptoms. There were no significant sex effects on any of the above relationships. These findings confirm the importance of developmental timing on oestradiol-related effects and hint at the non-sexually dimorphic role of oestradiol-related cortico-amygdalar structural networks in aspects of cognition distinct from emotional processes.