There is a gap in the literature concerning the temporal course, and the bidirectional nature, of the relationship between posttraumatic growth (PTG) and posttraumatic stress symptoms. This longitudinal study investigated PTG and posttraumatic stress in individuals directly exposed to the 2011 Oslo bombing ( N = 240). To investigate the relationships between PTG and posttraumatic stress 10 (T1) and 22 (T2) months after the bombing, a cross-lagged autoregressive model was applied. High levels of PTG at T1 were associated with high levels of posttraumatic stress at T2. Furthermore, high levels of posttraumatic stress at T1 were associated with high levels of PTG at T2. The association between PTG and stress declined from 10 to 22 months and was not significant after 22 months. These findings indicate that PTG may be both a consequence and antecedent of posttraumatic stress.

References

American Psychiatric Association . ( 2013 ). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders ( 5th ed. ). Washington, DC : Author .

Google Scholar Crossref

Blix, I., Birkeland, M. S., Hansen, M. B., Heir, T. ( 2015 ). Posttraumatic growth and centrality of event: A longitudinal study in the aftermath of the 2011 Oslo bombing . Psychological Trauma, 7, 18 – 23 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Boals, A., Schuettler, D. ( 2011 ). A double-edged sword: Event centrality, PTSD and posttraumatic growth . Applied Cognitive Psychology, 25, 817 – 822 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Boals, A., Steward, J. M., Schuettler, D. ( 2010 ). Advancing our understanding of posttraumatic growth by considering event centrality . Journal of Loss and Trauma, 15, 518 – 533 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Browne, M., Cudeck, R. ( 1992 ). Alternative ways of assessing model fit . Sociological Methods and Research, 21, 230 – 258 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Cann, A., Calhoun, L. G., Tedeschi, R. G., Taku, K., Vishnevsky, T., Triplett, K. N., Danhauer, S. C. ( 2010 ). A short form of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory . Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 23, 127 – 137 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Dekel, S., Ein-Dor, T., Solomon, Z. ( 2012 ). Posttraumatic growth and posttraumatic distress: A longitudinal study . Psychological Trauma, 4, 94 – 101 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

De Lange, A., Taris, T., Kompier, M., Houtman, I., Bongers, P. ( 2004 ). The relationships between work characteristics and mental health: Examining normal, reversed and reciprocal relationships in a 4-wave study . Work and Stress, 18, 149 – 166 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Elhai, J. D., Palmieri, P. A. ( 2011 ). The factor structure of posttraumatic stress disorder: A literature update, critique of methodology, and agenda for future research . Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 25, 849 – 854 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Engelhard, I. M., Lommen, M. J., Sijbrandij, M. ( 2014 ). Changing for better or worse? Posttraumatic growth reported by soldiers deployed to Iraq . Clinical Psychological Science, 3, 789 – 796 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Erbes, C., Eberly, R., Dikel, T., Johnsen, E., Harris, I., Engdahl, B. ( 2005 ). Posttraumatic growth among American former prisoners of war . Traumatology, 11, 285 – 295 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals

Finkel, S. E. ( 1995 ). Causal analysis with panel data. Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage .

Google Scholar Crossref

Frazier, P., Conlon, A., Glaser, T. ( 2001 ). Positive and negative life changes following sexual assault . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69, 1048 – 1055 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Frazier, P., Tennen, H., Gavian, M., Park, C., Tomich, P., Tashiro, T. ( 2009 ). Does self-reported posttraumatic growth reflect genuine positive change? Psychological Science, 20, 912 – 919 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Galea, S., Nandi, A., Vlahov, D. ( 2005 ). The epidemiology of post-traumatic stress disorder after disasters . Epidemiologic Reviews, 27, 78 – 91 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Graham, J. W. ( 2009 ). Missing data analysis: Making it work in the real world . Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 549 – 576 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Hall, B. J., Hobfoll, S. E., Canetti, D., Johnson, R. J., Galea, S. ( 2009 ). The defensive nature of benefit finding during ongoing terrorism: An examination of a national sample of Israeli Jews . Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 28, 993 – 1021 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Hall, B. J., Saltzman, L. Y., Canetti, D., Hobfoll, S. E. ( 2015 ). A longitudinal investigation of the relationship between posttraumatic stress symptoms and posttraumatic growth in a cohort of Israeli Jews and Palestinians during ongoing violence . PLoS ONE, 10(4), e0124782 . doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0124782

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Hansen, M. B., Nissen, A., Heir, T. ( 2013 ). Proximity to terror and post-traumatic stress: A follow-up survey of governmental employees after the 2011 Oslo bombing attack . BMJ Open, 3, e002692 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Helgeson, V. S., Reynolds, K. A., Tomich, P. L. ( 2006 ). A meta-analytic review of benefit finding and growth . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74, 797 – 816 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Hem, C., Hussain, A., Wentzel-Larsen, T., Heir, T. ( 2012 ). The Norwegian version of the PTSD Checklist (PCL): Construct validity in a community sample of 2004 tsunami survivors . Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 66, 355 – 359 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Ho, S. M., Chan, M. W., Yau, T., Yeung, R. M. ( 2011 ). Relationships between explanatory style, posttraumatic growth and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among Chinese breast cancer patients . Psychology and Health, 26, 269 – 285 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Hobfoll, S. E., Hall, B. J., Canetti-Nisim, D., Galea, S., Johnson, R. J., Palmieri, P. A. ( 2007 ). Refining our understanding of traumatic growth in the face of terrorism: Moving from meaning cognitions to doing what is meaningful . Applied Psychology, 56, 345 – 366 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Hu, L., Bentler, P. M. ( 1999 ). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives . Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1 – 55 . doi:10.1080/10705519909540118

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Hussain, A., Weisaeth, L., Heir, T. ( 2009 ). Nonresponse to a population-based postdisaster postal questionnaire study . Journal of Traumatic Stress, 22, 324 – 328 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Linley, P. A., Joseph, S. ( 2004 ). Positive change following trauma and adversity: A review . Journal of Traumatic Stress, 17, 11 – 21 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Linley, P. A., Joseph, S., Goodfellow, B. ( 2008 ). Positive changes in outlook following trauma and their relationship to subsequent posttraumatic stress, depression, and anxiety . Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 27, 877 – 891 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Little, T. D., Preacher, K. J., Selig, J. P., Card, N. A. ( 2007 ). New developments in latent variable panel analyses of longitudinal data . International Journal of Behavioral Development, 31, 357 – 365 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Lowe, S. R., Manove, E. E., Rhodes, J. E. ( 2013 ). Posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic growth among low-income mothers who survived Hurricane Katrina . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 81, 877 – 889 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

McMillen, J. C., Smith, E. M., Fisher, R. H. ( 1997 ). Perceived benefit and mental health after three types of disaster . Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65, 733 – 739 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

McNally, R. J. ( 2005 ). Remembering trauma. Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press .

Google Scholar

Muthén, B., Muthén, L. K. ( 1998–2013 ). Mplus (Version 7.11). Los Angeles, CA : Muthén & Muthén .

Google Scholar

Phelps, L. F., Williams, R. M., Raichle, K. A., Turner, A. P., Ehde, D. M. ( 2008 ). The importance of cognitive processing to adjustment in the 1st year following amputation . Rehabilitation Psychology, 53, 28 – 38 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Salsman, J. M., Segerstrom, S. C., Brechting, E. H., Carlson, C. R., Andrykowski, M. A. ( 2009 ). Posttraumatic growth and PTSD symptomatology among colorectal cancer survivors: A 3-month longitudinal examination of cognitive processing . Psycho-Oncology, 18, 30 – 41 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Satorra, A., Bentler, P. M. ( 2001 ). A scaled difference chi-square test statistic for moment structure analysis . Psychometrika, 66, 507 – 514 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Shakespeare-Finch, J., Lurie-Beck, J. ( 2014 ). A meta-analytic clarification of the relationship between posttraumatic growth and symptoms of posttraumatic distress disorder . Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 28, 223 – 229 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Simms, L. J., Watson, D., Doebbelling, B. N. ( 2002 ). Confirmatory factor analyses of posttraumatic stress symptoms in deployed and nondeployed veterans of the Gulf War . Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 111, 637 – 647 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Tedeschi, R. G., Calhoun, L. G. ( 2004 ). Posttraumatic growth: Conceptual foundations and empirical evidence . Psychological Inquiry, 15, 1 – 18 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Tedeschi, R. G., McNally, R. J. ( 2011 ). Can we facilitate posttraumatic growth in combat veterans? American Psychologist, 66, 19 – 24 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Weathers, F. W. F. J., Ford, J. ( 1996 ). Psychometric review of the PTSD Checklist (PCL-C, PCL-S, PCL-M, PCL-PR) . Measurement of Stress, Trauma and Adaptation, 250 – 251 .

Google Scholar

Yufik, T., Simms, L. J. ( 2010 ). A meta-analytic investigation of the structure of posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms . Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 119, 764 – 776 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Zapf, D., Dormann, C., Frese, M. ( 1996 ). Longitudinal studies in organizational stress research: A review of the literature with reference to methodological issues . Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 1, 145 – 169 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline