AUTHOR=Cao Chengqi , Wang Li , Wu Jianhui , Li Gen , Fang Ruojiao , Cao Xing , Liu Ping , Luo Shu , Hall Brian J. , Elhai Jon D. 

TITLE=Patterns of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Posttraumatic Growth in an Epidemiological Sample of Chinese Earthquake Survivors: A Latent Profile Analysis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01549

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01549

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) are different psychological outcomes triggered by exposure to extraordinarily traumatic events. In this study, we aimed to examine patterns of co-occurrence between DSM-5 PTSD symptoms and PTG, among natural disaster survivors, and to clarify whether empirically-based subgroups differed by several specific predictors.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> Latent profile analysis was used to examine patterns of self-reported PTSD symptoms and PTG in an epidemiological sample of 1063 Chinese earthquake survivors.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Three distinct profiles were identified, involving high PTSD/high PTG, mild PTSD/mild PTG, and mild PTSD/high PTG. Class membership was predicted by several variables, especially different sources of perceived social support.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Our findings contribute to the knowledge about the coexisting patterns of PTSD and PTG, and provide suggestions for identifying high-risk individuals and providing effective interventions in clinical practice.</p>