Adaptive Effects Following Trauma: A Conceptual Review

Traumatic events are common but pathologic responses are relatively rare. Although, a number of literatures and philosophies throughout human history have conveyed the idea that there is a personal gain to be found in suffering, positive changes in the aftermath of trauma or posttraumatic growth(PTG) have recently elicited heightened attention by trauma researchers. At the same time, some difficulties encountered in clearly defining the processes associated with subjective feeling of growth following recovery, raise doubts concerning the real or illusory nature of PTG and its adaptive value. To clarify this ambiguity, in this paper, we review three main theoretical perspectives: functional-descriptive model, meta-theoretical person-centered perspective and bio-psycho-social-evolutionary view, then, we go on to discuss the debate of the real or illusory nature of PTG and to address critical aspects toward the related theories and researches.