The role of attachment styles in post-traumatic stress disorder and posttraumatic growth in the Shidu parents of China

Background: The number of Shidu parents in China is significant and expected to continue increasing. The psychological status of Shidu parents deserves more attention.Objective: Our objective is to investigate the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder and attachment styles among Shidu parents on post-traumatic growth, with the aim of providing valuable insights for alleviating post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and enhancing levels of post-traumatic growth following trauma.Design: Demographic data, the Revised Adult Attachment Scale, the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5, and the post traumatic growth inventory were used to investigated 297 Shidu parents.Method: Two samples t-test was employed to evaluate disparities in post-traumatic growth inventory scores based on post-traumatic stress disorder and diverse attachment styles. Pearson's correlation analysis was used to investigate the association between Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 scores and post-traumatic growth inventory scores, as well as the association between different attachment styles and post-traumatic growth inventory scores. We performed multiple mediator analyses to further confirm the influence of post-traumatic stress disorder and attachment styles on post-traumatic growth inventory.Results: (1) A total of 35% of the people tested positive for post-traumatic stress disorder; (2) A total of 56.9% of the participants exhibited secure attachment, while 43.1% exhibited insecure attachment; (3) The results unveiled a substantial negative correlation between the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 scores and the post traumatic growth inventory scores; (4) A significant positive correlation was evident in relation to attachment dependence/closeness and post-traumatic growth inventory, while a significant negative correlation was established between attachment anxiety and post-traumatic growth inventory.Conclusion: Our study suggests that post-traumatic growth inventory is associated with post-traumatic stress disorder and attachment styles in Shidu parents. It might offer new insights into influencing levels of post-traumatic growth through post-traumatic stress disorder intervention.