Background: Posttraumatic growth (PTG) represents a positive personal change after adverse events, such as natural disasters, including earthquake. However, the association between exposure to earthquake and level of PTG is still unknown. Thus, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analyses (MA) is to assess the level of PTG in people exposed to earthquake. Methods: Studies were identified via Scopus, PsycInfo, Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE, ProQuest, Cochran Library, Ovid, Google Scholar, OpenGrey, congress, and conferences research papers. The level of PTG was presented as mean and standard deviation. Subgroup analyses were conducted to control for the amount of time that had passed since stressor onset and age of the study population. The meta-regression was used to explore the sources of between-study heterogeneity, including sample size and age. Results: The MA of all 21 studies using no restrictions related to age and time of the PTG measurement since traumatic event showed low level of PTG (41.71; 95%CI = 34.26; 49.16, I2: 62.44%, p: .000). Subgroup analyses controlled for the age demonstrated that level of PTG was higher in adults (49.47; 95% CI = 42.35; 56.58, I2: 0%, p = .466) when compared to children and adolescents (35.38; 95% CI = 23.65; 47.11, I2: 69.09%, p < .00). Moreover, the pooled weight mean of PTG measured 1 year and less than 1 year since the earthquake varied between medium (46.04; 95%CI = 34.45; 57.63, I2:51.2%, p: .037) and high (59.03; 95%CI = 41.46; 76.41, I2: 0%, p: .990) levels, respectively. Conclusion: The results of our MA showed low level of PTG in earthquake survivors. However, the mean value of PTG in adults was higher when compared to children and adolescents. In addition, the mean PTG was found to decrease over time since traumatic events.

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Purpose: Traumatic events and psychological damage are common, and the assessment of the growth in survivors of these events is critical. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Persian Posttraumatic Growth Inventory-Short Form (PTGI-SF). Methods: This study was conducted in five phases: (1) forward and backward translation of the questionnaire based on the WHO protocol, (2) confirmatory factor analysis to assess construct validity with 563 participations (288 women and 275 men), aged 19-84 years (mean: 33.36 years), (3) Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency, (4) correlations with the Persian version of the Duke University Religion Index (DUREL) for assessing criterion-related validity, and (5) measurement of invariance across genders. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis supported the five-factor model consisting of relating to others, new possibilities, personal strength, spiritual change, and appreciation of life. All the dimensions of the PTGI-SF were moderately associated with the Persian version of the DUREL. The internal reliability of the subscales and full scale of the PTGI-SF were acceptable to satisfactory, and the configural, metric, and scalar invariance was found across genders. Conclusion: The Persian version of PTGI-SF is an acceptable, valid, and reliable tool for measuring posttraumatic growth in Iran.

Objective: Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is a positive psychological change after challenging life events. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of positive and long-term psychological changes in people who experienced the Bam earthquake. Methods: A total of 916 adolescents were surveyed 17 years after the earthquake. Self-report questionnaires were administered to participants. A latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted to extract the subgroups of adults. Results: The LPA identified 5 meaningfully profiles that were characterized based on the pattern of PTG dimensions. The common profile was profile, which perceived very low “relating to others” dimension and medium for other PTG dimensions. Also, the results showed significant differences among gender and age and nonsignificant differences in marital status and education level among the profiles of PTG. Conclusions: For stressful situations, the different dimensions of PTG change indirectly in every person. In Bam, some patterns are seen according to PTG after 17 y. Among these dimensions, the part of “relating to others”, has the greatest change. Another conclusion is that according to a relatively high profile for 5 clusters, it seems the impact of 17 y should be less on PTG as the number of extractive patterns is approximately high for the case.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most important issues after earthquakes. Following the Bam earthquake, much of the literature has documented the prevalence and correlates of PTSD, but no study has evaluated predominant typologies of PTSD in this population. The present study aims to investigate PTSD typologies among adults exposed to the Bam earthquake after 17 years. The data were collected 17 years after the 2003 Bam earthquake using multistage cluster sampling, in a historical cohort study. In total, 917 people participated in the study. Latent class analyses (LCA) were conducted to identify predominant typologies of PTSD symptoms and associated correlates. The LCA identified four meaningfully different classes that were characterized based on the PTSD items. The common profile was class 1 with 36.1% of the study population, which reported medium on “Re-experiencing” and “avoidance” items and high for “dysphoria” item. Also, the results showed significant differences for marital status, death relative, and age across the four classes of PTSD. The results indicated after 17 years of the Bam earthquake, people who were exposed to this earthquake were divided into subgroups based on the severity and prevalence of PTSD symptoms. These findings highlighted the existence of experimental subgroups of PTSD symptoms following an earthquake, which can help us find those who are most in need of mental health services and also which can find specific interventions for any subgroups.