The role of strength-based parenting, posttraumatic stress, and event exposure on posttraumatic growth in flood survivors

Claudia Zavala; Lea Waters; Gökmen Arslan; Alexia Simpson; Pamela Nuñez Del Prado; Rafael Gargurevich

doi:10.1037/tra0001229

The role of strength-based parenting, posttraumatic stress, and event exposure on posttraumatic growth in flood survivors

Psychol Trauma. 2022 Apr 25. doi: 10.1037/tra0001229. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Claudia Zavala¹, Lea Waters², Gökmen Arslan³, Alexia Simpson⁴, Pamela Nuñez Del Prado⁴, Rafael Gargurevich⁴

Affiliations

¹ Teachers College.
² Centre for Positive Psychology.
³ Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance.
⁴ Department of Psychology.

PMID: 35467926
DOI: 10.1037/tra0001229

Abstract

Objective: The present study examined the role of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), strength-based parenting (SBP), and event exposure on posttraumatic growth (PTG) in Peruvian flood survivors.

Method: After contacting local authorities, 1,077 adult participants were surveyed 1 year after the flood. Correlation, moderation, and mediation analyses were conducted to determine relationships between variables.

Results: Flood survivors experienced both PTSS and PTG. Additionally, event exposure directly facilitated PTG. Further, SBP influenced PTG both directly and by its role in reducing PTSS. Finally, higher levels of SBP aided individuals in converting PTSS into PTG.

Conclusions: Favorable psychological outcomes following floods are not uncommon even for those with high levels of stress or exposure. Individual- and community-level interventions should leverage facilitating factors such as SBP to promote growth outcomes such as PTG. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).