Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Posttraumatic Growth in Children and Adolescents Following an Earthquake: A Latent Transition Analysis

This study examined the transitions in classes of posttraumatic stress symptoms and posttraumatic growth in a sample of children and adolescents (N = 757), between 8 and 20 months after the 2013 Ya'an earthquake in China. Using latent profile analysis, three classes of symptoms (resilient, thriving, and struggling) were identified at 8 and 20 months after the earthquake. Latent transition analysis indicated that the majority of survivors remained in the same class during the period, while others showed a transition between different classes over time. The transition was mainly characterized by three paths: from struggling to resilient, and from thriving to either resilient or struggling. Of the survivors who were classified as thriving at 8 months, those transitioning to the struggling class at 20 months were more likely to experience higher levels of loss and injury compared with those transitioning to the resilient class (Cohen's d = 0.72) or remaining in the thriving class (Cohen's d = 0.36) at 20 months postearthquake. Survivors who remained stable in the struggling class were older than those who remained stable in the thriving class (Cohen's d = 0.41) or those who moved from thriving at 8 months to resilient at 20 months after the earthquake (Cohen's d = 0.39). It is recommended that clinicians consider the classes of posttraumatic stress symptoms and posttraumatic growth, and the potential development paths and associated factors, when implementing interventions for children and adolescents after a natural disaster.