The Meeting of Minds Conference is coming up, and the PTG research assistants will be presenting their research. Here’s their abstracts:
Evan Theys:
Theys, E. R., Sawa, M. S., Pierson, V. J.
“Financial and Workplace Problems as a Possible Trigger for Growth: A Cross-Cultural Look”
The scope of this study is to show posttraumatic growth occurs in financial or career/work related problems, as well as examine the potential cross-cultural differences between American and Japanese participants. In doing so, three hypotheses were tested: whether PTG-Inventory scores for participants reporting financial/workplace were comparable to previous studies on PTG, whether the American sample would score higher than the Japanese sample as found in previous studies on PTG, and if the perceived sub-event type differed cross-culturally. With a subsample of 40 participants (n = 25 American, n = 15 Japanese), PTG was observed (M = 53.76). Significant cross-cultural differences were identified in the Personal Strength domain, t(37) = 2.20, p < .05, and the New Possibilities domain, t(37) = 5.25, p <.05, supporting the hypothesis that American participants would report significantly higher scores.
Melissa Sawa:
Pathway to Posttraumatic Growth: How Religious Strength and Alcohol Consumption Influence Growth
Sawa, M.S., Theys, E.R., Crispin, C.C., Pierson, V.J.
The goal of this study is to demonstrate the relationships and the predictive qualities of alcohol consumption and religious strength with the five domains of Posttraumatic Growth. The hypotheses of this study were (1) highly religious individuals consume alcohol less than individuals with little/no religious strength and (2) alcohol consumption and religious strength are predictors of each domain of PTG. In undergraduate students (N = 439), a significant relationship between religious strength and alcohol consumption was revealed, r = -.22, p < .001.Multiple regression analyses demonstrate significant findings in the Spiritual Change domain R2 = .27, F(2, 371) = 68.03, p < .001 and Appreciation of Life domain R2 = .02, F(2, 373) = 3.53, p < .05. Religious strength was a significant predictor of growth (Spiritual Change: β =.51, p <.001; Appreciation of Life: β = .14, p < .05), suggesting that the hypotheses were partially supported.
Cassandra Crispin:
Does Relationship Status Foster Disclosure?: A Cross Cultural Insight on the Effects of Gender and Relationship Status on Disclosure
Cassandra Crispin, Melissa Sawa, and Valarie Pierson
The purpose of this study was to examine if gender and relationship status affect disclosure after a traumatic event. The hypotheses were: women would disclose more after a traumatic event than men, and being in a relationship would encourage disclosing after a traumatic event. Our sample consisted of 656 college students, American (N = 326), Japanese (N = 330). The American sample, c2 (1, n = 318) = 5.31and Japan, c2 (1, n = 266) = 10.54, both had a significant association between disclosure and gender, women disclose more than men cross-culturally. The American sample shows significance between disclosure and relationship status, c2 (1, n = 315) = 4.79, p < .05, Japan had insignificant results. The odds of a woman disclosing more than a man after a traumatic event in America is 2.21, and Japan 2.96 times more likely. The odds of a person in a relationship disclosing in America are 2.43 times more likely than if they were single. The results of relationship status and disclosing in Japan were insignificant.
FF-PTG LAB 