Negative and positive effects of exposition to trauma among soldiers participating in military missions – the role of rumination

Abstract

Purpose: The study aimed was to establish in what extend in soldiers participating in military missions occur the negative and positive effects of trauma exposition and what is the role of rumination. Methods: The results of 60 soldiers who experienced traumatic events during the mission were analyzed. The age of the participants ranged from 26 to 46 years (M = 33.17, SD = 4.84). The following Polish versions of standardized tools were used: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire-K-PTSD, the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory-PTG and the Event Related Rumination Inventory-ERRI, measuring two types of ruminations: intrusive and deliberate. Results: Ten percent of respondents revealed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the remaining 90%-symptoms of its syndrome. The level of posttraumatic growth (PTG) is low. Both types of ruminations, ie. intrusive and deliberate proved to be positively associated with PTSD, wherein the predictive role play largely intrusive ruminations. Deliberate ruminations correlate with posttraumatic growth. They also proved to be predictors of the three areas of PTG, i.e. changes in self-perception, relations with others and appreciating of life. Conclusions: Ruminations favor the occurrence both negative and positive consequences of experienced traumatic events.

Burnout and posttraumatic stress symptoms in police officers exposed to traumatic events: the mediating role of ruminations

“…Empirical evidence indicates that predominantly ruminative thinking plays a dominant role in the development and maintenance of PTSD (Cann et al 2011;Ehring and Ehlers 2014;Ehlers and Clark 2000). This has been confirmed by previous studies carried out in Poland among medical rescue workers (Ogińska-Bulik and Juczyński 2016) and in a group of people who experienced various types of trauma, including work-related trauma (Ogińska-Bulik 2016, 2017.…”

Personal Resources and Spiritual Change among Participants’ Hostilities in Ukraine: The Mediating Role of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Turn to Religion

“…The presented relationships confirm the theory that the preference for religious coping strategies is both a factor contributing to the emergence of posttraumatic growth (when experiencing resource losses which generate PTSD) and constructive changes accompanying trauma (when experiencing PTSD) (Linley and Joseph 2004;Helgeson et al 2006;Ogińska-Bulik 2010;Pargament et al 2000;Tran et al 2012;Ellison et al 2013;Park 2013;Krok 2014;Ahles et al 2016). Therefore, religious coping strategies could be included in the subjective characteristics of the individual, as well as mental resilience, integrated personality, internal religiosity, optimism, hope, high self-efficacy, inner sense of control, high sense of coherence, personality resilience, by which the person effectively copes with trauma (Maheux and Price 2016;Ogińska-Bulik 2016;Büssing et al 2005;Santos et al 2017;Areba et al 2018;Bradshaw and Kent 2018;Pirutinsky et al 2020).…”

“…Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is described as a delayed and/or prolonged reaction to highly stressful events which are associated with loss of life, serious bodily harm, and/or danger to the physical integrity of oneself, accompanied by intense anxiety, feeling of helplessness and/or danger. PTSD is characterized by symptoms such as: recurring images, dreams, thoughts related to the experienced event (intrusion), attempts to avoid thinking about the situation and its experiences (avoidance), manifesting aroused vigilance, fear, difficulty concentrating, and/or overstimulation (Kessler et al 1995;Ogińska-Bulik and Juczyński 2012;Ogińska-Bulik 2016). The detailed PTSD criteria are included in The International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems ICD-11, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V (DSM-V).…”

“…The most positive changes in the field of posttraumatic growth occur in the period from two weeks to two months after the experienced trauma. However, it was also noticed that the described changes may occur many years after the traumatic event (Tedeschi andCalhoun 1996, 2004;Nishi et al 2010;Ogińska-Bulik and Juczyński 2012;Ogińska-Bulik 2016). In the literature, there is no unanimous position on the relationship between the magnitude of the trauma and the severity of posttraumatic transformations in the spiritual sphere.…”