Self esteem and hope mediate the relations between social support and post traumatic stress disorder and growth in adolescents following the Ya'an earthquake
ABSTRACT Background and objective: Although posttraumatic stress disorders (PTSD) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) can co exist, and several theories suggest that social support, self esteem, and hope can predict both PTSD and PTG, no study to date has examined the combined role of social support, self esteem, and hope in PTSD and PTG. The present study aimed to simultaneously examine the mediating roles of self esteem and hope in the relations between social support and PTSD, and between social support and PTG. Design: This study included 397 adolescents living in Lushan County, China, who were affected by the Ya'an earthquake. Method: The participants completed the self report questionnaires at two and a half years after the earthquake. Structural equation models were built to examine the roles of social support, self esteem, and hope in PTSD and PTG. Results: Social support directly and negatively predicted PTSD and positively predicted PTG. Moreover, social support negatively predicted PTSD via self esteem, and positively predicted PTG via hope. In addition, social support positively predicted PTG through multiple mediating paths from self esteem to hope. Conclusions: PTSD and PTG had different predictive paths. Specifically, social support reduced PTSD through enhanced self esteem and promoted PTG through hope, or through the path from self esteem to hope.
Anxiety, stress, and coping