Positive cultural belief about adversity predicts posttraumatic growth in Chinese young adults

Chim, K; Dubrow-Marshall, LJ; Eachus, P; Tang, A; Lai, T; Chow, Y

Abstract

Socio-cultural influences have been conceptualised to play multiple roles in the cognitive processing underlying posttraumatic growth (PTG), yet, existing literature in this area remains sparse. This study aimed to examine the effects of Chinese cultural belief about adversity on the cognitive processing of PTG among Chinese young adults. Design: Due to the nature of PTG, prospective studies to test for causality are almost unfeasible and most importantly, unethical. Therefore, a cross-sectional retrospective design was used. Method: Participants (n=63; mean age= 23.11; 66.7% female) were Chinese young adults who reported having experienced at least one perceived highly challenging life event. The instruments assessed PTG, psychological distress, history of life stressors, cultural belief about adversity, perceived event stressfulness, core belief challenge, and rumination. Results: A stepwise multiple regression was used to evaluate whether a number of cognitive variables were necessary to predict PTG. Preliminary findings revealed that endorsement of positive Chinese cultural belief about adversity, intrusive and deliberate rumination could predict 37.2% of the variance in the total PTG scores. Negative Chinese cultural belief about adversity, perceived event stressfulness, core belief challenge, and psychological distress did not predict the total growth scores. Conclusions: The results suggest that having positive cultural belief about adversity is an important resource that may help individuals to look for positive meaning in the adverse experience. These preliminary findings help to provide an initial analytical basis for guiding the development of a subsequent qualitative research which aims to further disentangle the effects of Chinese culture on PTG.

Citation

Chim, K., Dubrow-Marshall, L., Eachus, P., Tang, A., Lai, T., & Chow, Y. (2016, July). Positive cultural belief about adversity predicts posttraumatic growth in Chinese young adults. Presented at British Psychological Society Division of Counselling Psychology Conference, Brighton

• Presentation Conference Type: Other
• Conference Name: British Psychological Society Division of Counselling Psychology Conference
• Conference Location: Brighton
• Start Date: Jul 8, 2016
• End Date: Jul 9, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jan 3, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 3, 2017
• Additional Information: Event Type : Conference