Danhauer Suzanne C, Russell Greg, Case L Douglas, Sohl Stephanie J, Tedeschi Richard G, Addington Elizabeth L, Triplett Kelli, Van Zee Kimberly J, Naftalis Elizabeth Z, Levine Beverly, Avis Nancy E
Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy, Division of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, 27157-1063, USA,
Ann Behav Med. 2015 Oct;49(5):650-9. doi: 10.1007/s12160-015-9696-1.
Cancer survivors may experience posttraumatic growth (PTG), positive psychological changes resulting from highly stressful events; however, the longitudinal course of PTG is poorly understood.
The purpose of the present study was to determine trajectories of PTG in breast cancer survivors and associated characteristics.
Women (N = 653) participating in a longitudinal observational study completed questionnaires within 8 months of breast cancer diagnosis and 6, 12, and 18 months later. Group-based modeling identified PTG trajectories. Chi-square tests and ANOVA detected group differences in demographic, medical, and psychosocial variables.
Six trajectory groups emerged. Three were stable at different levels of PTG, two increased modestly, and one increased substantially over time. Trajectory groups differed by age, race, receipt of chemotherapy, illness intrusiveness, depressive symptoms, active-adaptive coping, and social support.
This first examination of PTG trajectories in US cancer survivors elucidates heterogeneity in longitudinal patterns of PTG. Future research should determine whether other samples exhibit similar trajectories and whether various PTG trajectories predict mental and physical health outcomes.
癌症幸存者可能会经历创伤后成长（PTG），即由高度应激事件导致的积极心理变化；然而，人们对PTG的纵向发展过程了解甚少。
本研究的目的是确定乳腺癌幸存者PTG的轨迹及其相关特征。
参与纵向观察研究的女性（N = 653）在乳腺癌诊断后的8个月内以及之后的6个月、12个月和18个月完成问卷调查。基于组的建模确定了PTG轨迹。卡方检验和方差分析检测了人口统计学、医学和心理社会变量方面的组间差异。
出现了六个轨迹组。三个组在不同的PTG水平上保持稳定，两个组适度增加，一个组随时间大幅增加。轨迹组在年龄、种族、化疗接受情况、疾病侵扰性、抑郁症状、积极适应性应对和社会支持方面存在差异。
对美国癌症幸存者PTG轨迹的首次研究阐明了PTG纵向模式的异质性。未来的研究应确定其他样本是否表现出相似的轨迹，以及各种PTG轨迹是否能预测身心健康结果。
