title: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger: A national study of U.S. military veterans.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is commonly observed among trauma survivors. However, few studies have treated PTG as multi-dimensional and examined how different PTG dimensions may be protective against the negative effects of future trauma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a nationally representative web-based survey of 1057 U.S. military veterans followed for two years, we examined whether different PTG dimensions had a protective effect on the severity and diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the face of new traumatic life events.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Greater scores on the Personal Strength domain of the PTG Inventory-Short Form at baseline was associated with reduced severity (β=-.05, p<.05) and incidence (OR=.68, 95% CI=.50-.93) of PTSD at a two-year follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results are associational and causality cannot be inferred so replication is needed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study highlights the multi-dimensional nature of PTG and demonstrates a salubrious effect of trauma-related gains in personal strength on incident PTSD.
authors.affiliation: Veterans Affairs New England Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, 950 Campbell Ave., 151D, West Haven, CT 06516, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA. Electronic address: Jack.Tsai@yale.edu.
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Natalie P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Mota
authors.affiliation: Veterans Affairs National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, West Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Steven M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Southwick
authors.affiliation: Veterans Affairs National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, West Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Pietrzak
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D065840:Protective Factors; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Posttraumatic growth; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Resilience; Trauma; Veterans