The Roles of Meaningful Life and Posttraumatic Stress in Posttraumatic Growth in a Sample of Turkish University Students

Abstract The present study aimed to find out the prevalence of traumatic experiences in students and the relationships among posttraumatic stress, meaningful life, and posttraumatic growth as well as to investigate the possible contributory roles of meaning in life dimensions and posttraumatic stress in posttraumatic growth. The instruments included, a series of questionnaires consisting of demographic information, Turkish versions of Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale, Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, and the Meaning in Life Questionnaire which were carried out in Afyon Kocatepe University. Statistical analysis of 564 university students (376 female and 188 male) revealed that sudden death was the most distressing event (51.4%). The hierarchical multiple regression results revealed both meaning in life dimensions significantly and positively predicted the total growth scores and posttraumatic stress severity contributed a significant increase in explained variance. In conclusion, following adversities, posttraumatic stress and both meaning in life dimensions are separate routes to posttraumatic growth.