Premium
DYNAMICS AMONG POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS SYMPTOMS, FORGIVENESS FOR THE PERPETRATOR, AND POSTTRAUMATIC GROWTH FOLLOWING COLLECTIVE TRAUMA
Author(s) -
Wusik Michael F.,
Smith Andrew J.,
Jones Russell T.,
Hughes Michael
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of community psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.585
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1520-6629
pISSN - 0090-4392
DOI - 10.1002/jcop.21686
Subject(s) - forgiveness , posttraumatic growth , posttraumatic stress , psychology , context (archaeology) , mediator , psychotherapist , clinical psychology , social psychology , medicine , paleontology , biology
Theory highlights forgiveness as a dynamic process that unfolds over time, as well as a potential target for posttrauma therapy. Longitudinal research, however, is nonexistent in the trauma literature. Further, the adaptation of forgiveness for understanding mass violent events has yet to be tested. The current study examined a theory‐based hypothesis posing forgiveness as a mediator between posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in the context of a mass university campus shooting. Results showed that forgiveness was a significant mediator of the indirect, positive relationship between Time 1 PTS and Time 1 and Time 2 PTG. Implications include considering mechanisms (e.g., forgiveness) that link PTS and PTG for application in future research and practice.