| The concept that people can have positive changes as a result of dealing with adversity is an ancient concept. In contrast, Posttraumatic Growth is a relatively recent addition to our understanding of people’s response to life’s struggles. Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) is conceptualized as positive changes in a person’s life that they attribute to having faced a traumatic and/or stressful event. However, PTG research is still in its youth and there are several major unanswered questions about the construct and its utility. Part of this is due to conflicting findings related to the relationship between PTG and psychological distress and adaptive significance. The Janus Face Model of PTG is a theory that attempts to unify the competing theories and findings into a cohesive whole. This study examined possible support for the Janus Face Model in a college population. In addition, the study investigated the rates of reported trauma experiences and levels of posttraumatic growth in relation to those events. Results indicated that there was only weak support for the Janus Model in the sample. In general, participants reported small to large amounts of positive growth related to their stated traumatic or stressful event. Notably, a small minority of participant’s reported negative growth related to their experience. The results suggest that participants experienced PTG in relation to a wide range of events, with bereavement being the predominant reported traumatic event. |
