PhD Scientific Days 2022

Mental Health Sciences I. (Poster discussion will take place in the Aula during the Coffee Break)

Posttraumatic Growth and Well-being Among Divorced Parents

Text of the abstract

Introduction: Post-traumatic growth refers to an event or situation that is stressful, challenging for the individual and brings significant changes in their current life (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2006). Divorce is a life event that affects the whole family. After divorce it is important to find a new balance for the well-being of both children and adults. The way in which parents evaluate and experience the divorce may influence the adjustment to the new life situation.
Aims: The aim of this presentation is to show correlation between post-traumatic growth (PTG) and some well-being indicators in a sample of divorced parents (N=304).
Methods: Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (Tedeschi&Calhoun 1996, Kovács, Balog& Preisz, 2012), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al.,1985; Martos et al.; 2014) and the Vital exhaustion Scale (Appels & Mulder, 1988; Kopp &Kovács, 2006) were used.
Results: There is significant correlation between PTG and life satisfaction (positive direction (r=0.13; p<0.05)) as well as between PTG and vital fatigue (negative direction (r=-0.15; p<0.01)) Further significant results were found for some subscales of PTG and demographic variables (gender difference: Z=-3.865 p<0.01).
Conclusion: Crises provide an opportunity to reassess life domains and thus to grow and develop (Updegraff and Taylor, 2000). Although a large proportion of studies focus on the negative effects of difficult life situations, exploring the positive effects of coping these difficulties might have importance. The results of our study suggest that the relationship between PTG and divorce is worth exploring further.
Funding: The study is funded by the NKFI Research Fund under the grant OTKA-PD 131671.