Examining Post-Traumatic Growth through the Lens of Personality Change
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The mantra “what doesn't kill you makes you stronger” resonates with many people and ties into a compelling cultural narrative proclaiming that adversity can be a source of strength and opportunity for post-traumatic growth (PTG). Given both the degree and types of adversity individuals confront over the course of their lives, this narrative can be a source of hope and optimism. Despite the strong appeal of this narrative, empirical research provides limited evidence that adversity reliably leads to improved psychological functioning. This lack of evidence is due to a host of challenges making this type of research extraordinarily difficult. For example, most research on PTG has employed cross-sectional designs, which are economical and feasible, but potentially reflect post hoc reconstruction of change rather than actual change. Several prospective studies have now found very small (or nonsignificant) correlations between perceived change and actual change. In cross-sectional studies […], it is impossible to know whether such perceived change reflects actual change; participants may misremember their prior state, be influenced by social desirability pressures resulting from the cultural narrative, or they may be motivated to perceive growth where it has not occurred.
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Responses to these methodological challenges proposed that researchers should examine PTG in terms of personality change - changes in any set of “relatively enduring patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that reflect the tendency to respond in certain ways under certain circumstances”…Given that theories of PTG frame the phenomenon in terms of personality change, it should be evaluated in those terms… Doing so opens a set of interesting questions that can be answered through a personality framework. Adopting a personality framework allows us to examine whether changes in people's life narratives or changes in momentary manifestations of thoughts, feelings, and behavior following the experience of adversity lead to changes in specific personality traits…
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Examining PTG in terms of personality change can also help clarify theoretical claims. For example, some PTG theories claim that PTG reflects enduring changes in meaning and purpose. Dynamic personalities theories claim that meaningful and lasting changes in behaviors are likely driven by changes in specific goals e.g., someone becoming more generative and care-oriented after the experience of taking care of a sick loved one. Given that people typically report PTG immediately following the experience of an adverse event, these immediate changes can be better conceptualized as short-term coping that may or may not lead to long-term growth depending on changes in those goals.
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An additional benefit of examining PTG in terms of personality change is that it affords the examination of what type of change is most likely to occur in the wake of adversity. PTG may consist of changes in goals (i.e., the “doing” side of personality) that subsequently lead to changes in characteristic thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (the “having” side of personality). However, some personality changes following adversity may be best characterized as changes in how an individual narrates their life (the “being” side of personality). Understanding the “level” of personality at which PTG occurs, the benefits of such change, and the extent to which PTG occurs across multiple “levels” of personality can help illuminate how life events impact personality and broader developmental outcomes across the lifespan.
