title: Post-traumatic growth among the UK veterans following treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this paper was to examine levels of post-traumatic growth (PTG) in a sample of the UK veterans who had received treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
  
  
  METHODS
  The study followed-up 149 UK veterans after they had completed standardised treatment for PTSD provided by Combat Stress. Data had previously been collected on a range of mental health outcomes before treatment, and then repeated 6 months after the end of treatment. For the current study, participants completed the post-traumatic growth inventory (PTGI) measure. Analysis was conducted to explore levels of PTG and whether there were any relationships between pretreatment and post-treatment ratings of mental health and PTG.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean score on the PTGI was 32.6. Evidence of a treatment effect on levels of PTG was observed. There appeared to be a relationship between improvements in symptoms of PTSD and depression and higher levels of PTG.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study observed the presence of PTG following exposure to traumatic events within a sample of the UK veterans following their treatment for PTSD. PTG scores were moderately low in comparison to similar studies in the USA.
authors.affiliation: Combat Stress, Leatherhead, UK.|Department of Psychological Medicine, King's Centre for Military Health Research, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Dominic
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: Combat Stress, Leatherhead, UK.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Palmer
authors.affiliation: Combat Stress, Leatherhead, UK.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lock
authors.affiliation: Combat Stress, Leatherhead, UK.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Busuttil
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000786:Anger; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D012114:Residential Treatment; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D006113:United Kingdom; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Ex-service personnel; MENTAL HEALTH; PTSD; Post-traumatic Growth; Trauma; Veterans