Posttraumatic growth among combat veterans: A proposed developmental pathway.

Abstract

With the large number of combat veterans returning from war, there is an ever-increasing need to understand ways to help soldiers and veterans successfully navigate their return to life after combat. Posttraumatic growth (PTG) offers strong protective elements following combat, including reduction in suicidal ideation (Bush et al., 2011). The purpose of this study was to explore a proposed psychosocial developmental pathway between posttraumatic stress symptoms and PTG among combat veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. The indirect pathway from posttraumatic symptoms to PTG through negative psychosocial development was found to be significant and positive. It appears that psychosocial development may indeed mediate the process by which combat veterans can make meaning from their experiences, improving overall well-being.