Posttraumatic growth of Southeast Asian survivors with physical injuries: Six months after the 2004 Southeast Asian earthquake-tsunami

Abstract

Posttraumatic growth (PTG) of 138 adult Thai survivors with physical injuries was assessed at six months following the 2004 Southeast Asian earthquake-tsunami. The prevalence rates for interpersonal and intrapersonal PTG were 32% and 37%, respectively. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that common predictors of inter- and intrapersonal PTG were intrusive, hyper-aroused, and avoidant states, perceived family emotional support, and being married. Younger age, pre-disaster employment, and disaster-related traumatic experiences were specific predictors of interpersonal PTG, while adaptive coping was a specific predictor of intrapersonal PTG. Implications and limitations of this study were discussed.