title: Posttraumatic Growth in Breast Cancer Survivors: Constructive and Illusory Aspects.
abstract: This study investigated the impact of a building-resilience intervention on coping and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in a convenience sample of 94 breast cancer survivors. PTG was divided into constructive and illusory components, based on the two-sided Janus face model (Maercker & Zoellner, 2004). We operationalized constructive PTG as an improvement in both PTG and coping, and illusory PTG as an improvement in PTG only. An 8-session group intervention was delivered to 49 women (mean age = 51.5 years, SD = 10.7) who completed self-report questionnaires at baseline and at 6 months follow-up; a control group of 45 women only completed questionnaires. More than half the participants (n = 53; 56.38%) reported increased PTG at 6 months (mean change = 0.56, SD = 0.48, η(2) = .58). The increase in both PTG and positive coping was significantly greater in the intervention group than the control group (B = 0.23 for PTG, and B = 0.35 for positive coping). Further, a higher proportion of constructive PTG (vs. illusory PTG) was reported by the participants in the intervention group (89.3%), as compared to the control group (56.3%; z = 2.57). The distinction between constructive and illusory PTG has clinical implications for interventions promoting coping and growth among cancer survivors.
authors.affiliation: Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma, Herzog Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel.|School of Social Work and Social Welfare, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pat-Horenczyk
authors.affiliation: Psycho-Oncology Unit, Institute of Oncology, Davidoff Center, Rabin Medical Center, Petach Tikva and Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Shlomit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel.
authors.forename: Yaira
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hamama-Raz
authors.affiliation: Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma, Herzog Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Yuval
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ziv
authors.affiliation: Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma, Herzog Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel.
authors.forename: Sarit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schramm-Yavin
authors.affiliation: Psycho-Oncology Unit, Institute of Oncology, Davidoff Center, Rabin Medical Center, Petach Tikva and Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Salomon M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Stemmer
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*