Investigation of the relationship between collectivist coping styles and posttraumatic growth in adults with a history of childhood trauma

Introduction: The first years of life are the years when our perspective on life is shaped. This period is also a very sensitive period in terms of being traumatized. Traumas that can be experienced affect the adult life of the person and shape his/her perspective on the world. While experiencing early trauma may have negative consequences, individuals may experience a positive development opportunity by showing post-traumatic growth. Coping styles applied in traumas can be effective in growth after the traumatic event. Especially in collectivist cultures, it is seen that post-traumatic collectivist coping styles are applied. Collectivist coping styles accompany post-traumatic growth. Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between collectivist coping styles and post-traumatic growth in adults with a history of childhood trauma. Method: The sample of this study consists of 756 volunteers adult individuals between the ages of 18-65. Informed Consent Form, Demographic Information Form, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ-33), Collectivist Coping Styles Inventory (KBCSI) and Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTSI) were administered to the participants. The analysis of the obtained data was made with the IBM SPSS 22.0 (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) program. Results: Of the participants participating in the study, 678 (%89.7) were female and 78 (%10.3) were male. In individuals with high trauma scores, a significant negative correlation was found betweeen the sub-factors of collectivist coping styles, family support, religion-spirituality, acceptance and restructuring and post-traumatic growth. In individuals with high trauma scores, a positive and significant relationship was found between the collectivist coping styles sub-factors, special emotional sharing and avoidance-seperation and post-traumatic growth. A positive and significant relationship was found between post-traumatic growth scores and collectivist coping styles sub-factors family support, private emotional sharing, religion/spirituality and acceptance and restructuring. When the Collectivist Coping Styles Inventory was evaluated, it was seen that the most frequently used coping method was avoidance-segregation and the least used method was family support. Finally, it was concluded that the rate of trauma in childhood was higher in women than in men, but the post-traumatic growth scores were similar in both gender groups. Conclusion: As a result of the study, it has been demonstrated that there is a significant relationship between collectivist coping styles and post-traumatic growth in adults with a history of childhood trauma.