The association of nursing care perception with coping skills and posttraumatic growth in mental disorders
Authors: Şimşek Arslan B. , Buldukoglu K. 
Published: January 2018

Accessible summary

What is known on the subject?

Although it is well known that coping with mental disorder is a traumatic experience, studies of the relationships between posttraumatic growth and the variables that can affect it are rarely found in the literature. The studies that do exist usually focus on posttraumatic growth after posttraumatic stress disorder has developed as a result of traumatic life events such as earthquakes, wars, accidents or physical disease. In the literature, there exist few studies of patients diagnosed with psychosis.

What does this paper add to existing knowledge?

This study shows that posttraumatic growth can be seen in patients after the diagnosis of mental disorders.

Patients who use effective coping methods show more posttraumatic growth.

In addition, patients who are satisfied with the nursing care received in the clinic show more posttraumatic growth. This indicates that care delivered by psychiatric nurses contributes to the posttraumatic growth of the patients.

What are the implications for practice?

Psychiatric nurses who recognize that suffering a mental disorder is a traumatic experience and that patients can grow from this experience can contribute to the posttraumatic growth of those in their care. When they see signs of posttraumatic growth, nurses can teach patients how to cope with that stress effectively and how to share their feelings, thoughts and experiences related to the situation. In addition, psychosocial interventions such as trauma‐focused cognitive behavioural therapy and eye movement desensitization can be used to aid posttraumatic growth.

Introduction

Although it is recognized that suffering a mental illness is a traumatic experience, the fact that this can lead to posttraumatic growth and the variables that may affect the situation are rarely discussed in the literature.

Aim

This study was conducted to determine the effects of coping styles and nursing care perceptions on posttraumatic growth in mental disorders.

Method

The descriptive study was conducted at a psychiatric clinic with a personal information form and three‐scale test.

Results

In the study, completed with 122 psychiatric inpatients, it was found that patients were using effective methods to cope with stress, were satisfied with nursing care and had high posttraumatic growth. Moreover, it was found that effective coping styles and satisfaction with nursing care positively affected the posttraumatic growth level of patients.

Discussion

The results support the proposition that using effective coping styles and seeking professional support after traumatic life events influence posttraumatic growth levels.

Implications for practice

Psychiatric nurses should be aware of the fact that developing a mental disorder is a traumatic life event after which posttraumatic growth can occur. They should encourage posttraumatic growth by teaching effective coping methods, providing psychiatric care and using psychosocial interventions such as trauma‐focused cognitive behavioural therapy and eye movement desensitization.