This study examined posttraumatic growth in 30 male veterans captured and held as prisoners of war during the Vietnam War. Participants were assessed with structured diagnostic interviews administered by trained clinicians as well as with the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) and other questionnaires measuring dispositional optimism, religious coping, social supports, and purpose in life. Mean age (standard deviation-SD) of participants was 66.7 (6.0) years. Mean total PTGI score (SD) was 66.3 (17.5), indicating a moderate degree of posttraumatic growth. The most strongly endorsed items corresponded to the Appreciation of Life and Personal Strength factors. The group as a whole was optimistic and reported moderate use of positive religious coping. Posttraumatic growth did not significantly differ in repatriates with and without psychopathology, but it was significantly positively correlated with dispositional optimism. In the final regression model, length of captivity and optimism were significant predictors of posttraumatic growth. Our findings confirm that it is possible to achieve long-lasting personal growth even in the face of prolonged extreme adversity. Prospective studies are needed to further evaluate whether pre-existing traits such as optimism can predict growth after trauma.

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HPV vaccine uptake can be improved through a multifaceted approach that includes provider and staff education and patient reminder/recall. System-level change to optimize reminder and recall notices can have substantial impact on HPV vaccine utilization.

Resilience, exhibiting intact psychological functioning despite exposure to trauma, is one perspective as to why some people who are exposed to trauma do not develop symptoms. This study examines the prisoner of war experience to expand our understanding of this phenomenon in extreme cases of trauma such as prolonged captivity, malnourishment, and physical and psychological torture. The study examined the United States' longest detained American prisoners of war, those held in Vietnam in the 1960s through early 1970s. A logistic regression analysis using resilience, defined as never receiving any psychiatric diagnosis over a 37-year follow-up period, as the outcome was performed (n = 224 with complete data). Six variables showing at least small effects emerged: officer/enlisted status, age at time of capture, length of solitary confinement, low antisocial/psychopathic personality traits, low posttraumatic stress symptoms following repatriation, and optimism. Odds ratios (ORs) and confidence intervals (CIs) confirmed the significance and relative strength of these variables, with a range from OR = 0.54, 95% CI [0.13, 2.29] to OR = 1.11, 95% CI [1.04, 1.17]. When all variables were examined continuously and categorically, dispositional optimism was the strongest variable, accounting for 17%, continuously, and 14%, categorically. We discuss optimism as a protective factor for confronting trauma and the possibility of training to increase it.