Post-Traumatic Growth and Resilience among Hospitalized COVID-19 Survivors: A Gendered Analysis

Samuel Adjorlolo; Paul Adjorlolo; Johnny Andoh-Arthur; Emmanuel Kwadzo Ahiable; Irene Akwo Kretchy; Joseph Osafo

doi:10.3390/ijerph191610014

Post-Traumatic Growth and Resilience among Hospitalized COVID-19 Survivors: A Gendered Analysis

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Aug 14;19(16):10014. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191610014.

Authors

Samuel Adjorlolo^{1

2}, Paul Adjorlolo³, Johnny Andoh-Arthur⁴, Emmanuel Kwadzo Ahiable⁵, Irene Akwo Kretchy⁶, Joseph Osafo⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mental Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra P.O. Box LG 43, Ghana.
² Research and Grant Institute of Ghana, Legon, Accra P.O. Box LG 1004, Ghana.
³ Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra P.O. Box LG 43, Ghana.
⁴ Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, College of Humanities, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra P.O. Box LG 84, Ghana.
⁵ The Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Ridge, Ghana Health Service, Accra P.O. Box 473, Ghana.
⁶ Department of Pharmacy Practice and Clinical Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra P.O. Box LG 43, Ghana.

Abstract

The literature on behavioral outcomes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic is inundated with mental health burdens such as depression and stress disorders. The current study investigated gender invariance on resilience and post-traumatic growth (PTG) as positive psychological changes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 381 survivors of the COVID-19 infection completed measurements of resilience, PTG, violence and stigma experience, and mental health problems like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, correlation, multivariate regression, and a latent profile analysis. The results revealed that more than half of the participants had high scores on resilience (53.6%) and PTG (60.9%). The positive psychological changes, although independent of each other, were moderated by gender, and influenced by the negative experiences of participants such as stigma, violence, and PTSD. Latent profile analyses revealed three classes of participants, two of which were characterized by high scores on mental health problems and PTG. The clusters were invariant across gender. Surviving COVID-19 contributed to resilience and PTG. These can be targeted for intervention programs to mitigate the mental health burden occasioned by the pandemic.

Keywords: Africa; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; gender; post-traumatic growth; resilience.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / epidemiology
Humans
Pandemics
Posttraumatic Growth, Psychological*
Resilience, Psychological*
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic* / epidemiology
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic* / psychology
Survivors / psychology

Grants and funding

This project was supported by the COVID-19 Africa Rapid Grant Fund under the auspices of the Science Granting Councils Initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa (SGCI) with collaboration from NRF, IDRC, SIDA, DSI, FRG, DFID, UKRI, and SGCI (grant number: COV19200616532318).