title: Correlation Between Posttraumatic Growth and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Based on Pearson Correlation Coefficient: A Meta-Analysis.
abstract: The literature on posttraumatic growth (PTG) is burgeoning, with the inconsistencies in the literature of the relationship between PTG and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms becoming a focal point of attention. Thus, this meta-analysis aims to explore the relationship between PTG and PTSD symptoms through the Pearson correlation coefficient. A systematic search of the literature from January 1996 to November 2015 was completed. We retrieved reports on 63 studies that involved 26,951 patients. The weighted correlation coefficient revealed an effect size of 0.22 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.18 to 0.25. Meta-analysis provides evidence that PTG may be positively correlated with PTSD symptoms and that this correlation may be modified by age, trauma type, and time since trauma. Accordingly, people with high levels of PTG should not be ignored, but rather, they should continue to receive help to alleviate their PTSD symptoms.
authors.affiliation: *School of Nursing, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai; and †School of Nursing, Anhui Medical University, Shu Shan District, Hefei, China.
authors.forename: An-Nuo
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Lu-Lu
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hui-Ping
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Xiao-Hong
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*