Abstract:
Background: Various coping strategies have been shown to alleviate the negative effects of trauma, yet the significance of prosocial behaviour in this realm has been notably underexplored. The present study explored the hypothesis that engaging in prosocial behaviour mitigates the impacts of trauma by promoting a sense of competence and relatedness, post-traumatic growth (PTG), and reconstruction of meaning.Methods: Three consecutive studies were conducted with college students to compare differences in consequence of prosocial behaviours between a trauma group and a control group. Study 1 (N = 96) used self-reported experiences of traumatic vs non-traumatic events; Study 2 (N = 43) used exposure vs. no exposure to video of an earthquake; Study 3 (N = 20) used a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a prosocial-themed intervention vs. no intervention. Outcomes in all studies were assessed by self-report questionnaires.Results: Trauma damaged participants\' sense of competence and meaningfulness. Prosocial behaviour relieved the impact of trauma on meaning, specifically manifested in the individuals\' sense of meaningfulness and their search for meaning. Group interventions with a prosocial theme (based on effect size results) reduced post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and enhanced PTG in victims. The promoting effect on PTG persisted a month later, and its enhancing effect on meaning manifested with a delay.Conclusion: Prosocial behaviour can potentially serve as a beneficial strategy for individuals coping with trauma because it helps enhance meaning and promotes PTG in victims. This conclusion is supported by laboratory experiments and a tentative small-scale intervention study, which provide an innovative perspective for future trauma interventions.
Prosocial behaviour can potentially serve as a beneficial strategy for individuals coping with trauma.Prosocial behaviour relieved the impact of trauma on meaning.Prosocial-themed intervention reduced PTSD and enhanced PTG in victims (based on effect size results).
摘要:
背景:各种应对策略已被证明可以减轻创伤的负面影响,然而,在这个领域中,亲社会行为的重要性被明显低估了。本研究探讨了这样一个假设,即从事亲社会行为通过促进能力和相关性来减轻创伤的影响,创伤后成长(PTG),意义的重建。方法:对大学生进行了三项连续研究,以比较创伤组和对照组之间亲社会行为后果的差异。研究1(N=96)使用了自我报告的创伤性和非创伤性事件的经历;研究2(N=43)使用了暴露与没有暴露于地震的视频;研究3(N=20)使用了一项随机对照试验(RCT)的亲社会主题干预与没有干预。所有研究的结果均通过自我报告问卷进行评估。结果:创伤损害了参与者的能力和意义感。亲社会行为减轻了创伤对意义的影响,特别表现在个人的意义感和他们对意义的追求。具有亲社会主题的团体干预(基于效果大小结果)减少了创伤后应激障碍(PTSD)并增强了受害者的PTG。对PTG的促进作用持续一个月后,它对意义的增强作用表现为延迟。结论:亲社会行为可以作为应对创伤的个人的有益策略,因为它有助于增强受害者的意义并促进PTG。这一结论得到了实验室实验和初步小规模干预研究的支持,这为未来的创伤干预提供了创新的视角。
亲社会行为有可能成为个人应对创伤的有益策略。亲社会行为减轻了创伤对意义的影响。亲社会主题干预减少了受害者的PTSD并增强了PTG(基于效果大小结果)。