Patterns of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Posttraumatic Growth Among Employees After the Tianjin Explosion in China: A Latent Profile Analysis

Abstract Background : Posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) often coexist in survivors of traumatic events. In this study, latent profile analysis was used to investigate the coocurrence patterns of PTSD and PTG among a sample of employees who survived an explosion in the Tianjin Binhai New Area on August 12, 2015. We aimed to determine whether profiles could be affected by specific predictors. Method : Latent profile analysis was used to examine cooccurrence patterns of self-reported PTSD and PTG in a sample of 2,456 employees who survived the Tianjin Binhai New Area explosion. Results : Four distinct profiles were identified mild PTSD/mild PTG group, mild PTSD/high PTG group, mild PTSD/medium PTG group, high PTSD/medium PTG group. The classification was predicted by several variables, such as depression, resilience and issues related to trauma exposure. Conclusion : Our findings contribute to knowledge about the cooccurrence patterns of PTSD and PTG and provide guidance for future clinical practice to identify individuals at high risk for effective interventions.