The Impact of Multiple Stressful Life Events on Posttraumatic Growth in Adolescence

Clinical Impact Statement Adolescents have been shown to experience posttraumatic growth (PTG). It was found that even adolescents who experience multiple traumatic life events often focus on one salient event when recognizing PTG. However, those who report PTG as a result of multiple traumatic events note increases in self-reliance, changed priorities, and identifying new life paths, while also increased distress. These results inform researchers and clinicians that when assessing PTG in adolescents, the focus should not be limited toward the raw number of traumatic events experienced, but rather subjective perceptions of severity, meanings of each event, and core beliefs disruption from each event. Objective: Posttraumatic growth (PTG) has been primarily recognized as a result of experiencing a single life crisis. The current study investigated how PTG may be attributed to experiences of a multitude of highly stressful life events, and how PTG is correlated with PTSD symptoms, the severity of the event, and the total number of childhood traumas experienced. Method: Adolescents (N = 139) participated in a survey that assessed six major life events of childhood trauma and rated the severity of each event, posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), and PTG. Results: The majority of adolescents attributed their PTG experiences to one event, despite experiencing multiple traumas. However, experiencing more events was associated with greater PTSS and some forms of PTG such as changed priorities, increased self-reliance, and establishing a new path in life. Results from regression analyses also showed that trauma severity and PTSS were linearly correlated with PTG, and thus, a curvilinear relationship was not identified. Conclusions: Cumulative traumatic events may lead to increases in a sense of personal growth, while also increasing distress, in nonclinical adolescents.