Title:
Spirituality, meaning, and positivity as predictors of posttraumatic growth within and beyond the broaden-and build theory of positive emotions: a Philippine experience
Author:
Maria Carmen B. LaVina
Thesis Advisor:
Bob Wicks
Committee Member:
Gabby Dy-Liacco
Committee Member:
Debby Haskins
Committee Member:
Elizabeth Maynard
Committee Member:
Donna Parker
Degree Granting Institution:
Loyola University Maryland--College of Arts and Sciences
Place:
Baltimore (Md.)
Publisher:
Loyola University Maryland
Date Created:
2013
Type of Resource:
text
Genre:
thesis
Language:
eng
Format:
application/pdf
Physical Form:
electronic
Digital Source:
born digital
Abstract:
This correlational study examined posttraumatic growth in a sample of largely very poor, very religious, middle-aged, Filipino women (N = 415, males 9%) who survived Typhoon Durian in 2006. Specifically, this study investigated how positivity, meaning, and spirituality predicted posttraumatic growth within (Model 1) and beyond (Model 2) the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. As a pastoral counseling project, this study presented an integrated psycho-spiritual framework, which served as the linchpin of this empirical inquiry. This framework utilized a mapping process and the Chalcedonian pattern of thought in the integration of theology and psychology. Moreover, as a psychological probe, this study also conducted a literature review of positivity, meaning, and spirituality as predictors of posttraumatic growth within and beyond the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. As a quantitative research, this study also employed statistical analyses whose results served as the springboard for scrutinizing the relevance of the pastoral counseling and psychological portrayals of posttraumatic growth. Statistical results revealed that positivity, meaning, and spirituality directly and indirectly predicted the posttraumatic growth outcomes. However, of these constructs, spirituality, as operationalized through the Faith Maturity Scale: Vertical subscale and Positive Religious Coping scores, emerged as the strongest predictor construct within and beyond the broaden-and-build model. By interpreting these results from pastoral counseling and psychological perspectives, this study obtained an integrated portrayal of posttraumatic growth in Filipino typhoon survivors, which has implications for pastoral counseling, psychological research, and disaster mental health. For pastoral counseling, a hybrid of psychology and theology, the study's psycho- spiritual framework could help the discipline, both in its theoretical and clinical aspects, to confidently engage with psychology without minimizing spirituality. For psychological research, this study enhances literature on posttraumatic growth in poor women and thus helps draw up hypotheses for causal studies. For disaster mental health, knowledge of these results could boost efforts to develop appropriate and effective interventions for disaster preparedness and recovery. In terms of the methodology, all instruments were translated into the Albay dialect and consisted of measurements that assessed the study's variables of interest: (a) control variables consisting of demographic items, levels of distress, and personality items; (b) predictor variables consisting of spirituality, meaning, and positivity variables; and (c) outcome variables consisting of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory-related variables. Of the total number of participants, 55 had two observers each, who validated the participants' self-ratings.
Subject:
Electronic dissertations
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Level:
Doctoral
Discipline:
Pastoral Counseling
Restrictions on Access:
Author has given permission to make this work available online.
Use and Reproduction:
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Identifier:
LaVinaMCB-13
