{"title":"How meaning in life and vitality are associated with posttrauma outcomes: A systematic review","authors":"Celestin Mutuyimana, Andreas Maercker","doi":"10.1002/jts.23040","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>When confronted with a traumatic event, people may suffer from adverse posttraumatic outcomes, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or complex PTSD (CPTSD). Positive psychology research has shown that meaning in life and vitality are potentially correlated protective factors against negative developments following trauma exposure that can lead to PTSD or CPTSD. This systematic review aimed to synthesize global empirical research findings, emphasizing the impact of meaning in life and vitality on both PTSD and CPTSD. A search of empirical studies was performed within the Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science core collection databases, as well as PsycInfo, using the PRISMA checklist. A total of 29 studies were included after a systematic exclusion process. The collective findings from 22 studies examining meaning in life and five studies focusing on vitality revealed a consistent negative association with symptoms of PTSD. No study that explored the associations among meaning in life, vitality, and CPTSD was found. In contrast to vitality, meaning in life has been extensively studied in relation to traumatic stress worldwide, and few discrepancies in results were found. This systematic review identified the need to intensify scientific efforts in capitalizing on meaning in life as a possible target for psychological interventions, especially for trauma survivors globally, and to consider vitality as a protective factor that needs more empirical attention in relation to posttraumatic stress. Furthermore, there is a need for studies that encompass diverse target samples and employ longitudinal study design to examine the associations between protective factors and CPTSD.</p>","PeriodicalId":17519,"journal":{"name":"Journal of traumatic stress","volume":"37 4","pages":"551-562"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4000,"publicationDate":"2024-04-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jts.23040","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of traumatic stress","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jts.23040","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHIATRY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
When confronted with a traumatic event, people may suffer from adverse posttraumatic outcomes, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or complex PTSD (CPTSD). Positive psychology research has shown that meaning in life and vitality are potentially correlated protective factors against negative developments following trauma exposure that can lead to PTSD or CPTSD. This systematic review aimed to synthesize global empirical research findings, emphasizing the impact of meaning in life and vitality on both PTSD and CPTSD. A search of empirical studies was performed within the Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science core collection databases, as well as PsycInfo, using the PRISMA checklist. A total of 29 studies were included after a systematic exclusion process. The collective findings from 22 studies examining meaning in life and five studies focusing on vitality revealed a consistent negative association with symptoms of PTSD. No study that explored the associations among meaning in life, vitality, and CPTSD was found. In contrast to vitality, meaning in life has been extensively studied in relation to traumatic stress worldwide, and few discrepancies in results were found. This systematic review identified the need to intensify scientific efforts in capitalizing on meaning in life as a possible target for psychological interventions, especially for trauma survivors globally, and to consider vitality as a protective factor that needs more empirical attention in relation to posttraumatic stress. Furthermore, there is a need for studies that encompass diverse target samples and employ longitudinal study design to examine the associations between protective factors and CPTSD.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Traumatic Stress (JTS) is published for the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. Journal of Traumatic Stress , the official publication for the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, is an interdisciplinary forum for the publication of peer-reviewed original papers on biopsychosocial aspects of trauma. Papers focus on theoretical formulations, research, treatment, prevention education/training, and legal and policy concerns. Journal of Traumatic Stress serves as a primary reference for professionals who study and treat people exposed to highly stressful and traumatic events (directly or through their occupational roles), such as war, disaster, accident, violence or abuse (criminal or familial), hostage-taking, or life-threatening illness. The journal publishes original articles, brief reports, review papers, commentaries, and, from time to time, special issues devoted to a single topic.