Post-Traumatic Growth, Psychological Well-Being, and Distress

The process of adaptation to stressful life events can be different from person to person, leading to distress but also to positive changes, subsumed under the rubric of post-traumatic growth (PTG). It is a process of personal transformation that may result from dealing with a traumatic event. PTG is a complex phenomenon, similar to the concept of psychological or eudaimonic well-being, where positivity and distress may coexist. Investigations show that the relationships between PTG, well-being, and distress could be described using a curvilinear model, where distress is required to start the growth process, but high levels of distress prevent the growth process from occurring. In this chapter, we analyze recent literature on PTG, psychological well-being, and distress in various types of trauma, including medical illnesses. Current limitations and inconsistent findings are highlighted.