Posttraumatic Growth in Trauma Survivors: Associations with Attachment to God and God Representation

Abstract

Individuals often turn to religion or spirituality to cope with or make sense of trauma. In this study of 222 university students who reported a history of trauma, we examined whether God representation and attachment to God were associated with posttraumatic outcomes. Trauma outcomes include both the negative impacts of trauma and the perceived posttraumatic growth (PTG) that can occur in trauma survivors. Results revealed that both an authoritarian representation of God and an avoidant attachment to God were predictive of experiences of PTG.