CONVERGING AND DIVERGING OUTCOMES OF POSTTRAUMATIC GROWTH (PTG) AND POSTTRAUMATIC DEPRECIATION (PTD) IN COMBAT VETERANS: A CASE STUDY

Abstract

Upon examining combat veterans’ psychological responses to combat-related trauma, two emerged for consideration: posttraumatic growth (PTG) through making meaning out of a traumatic experience and a positive outcome or change, and posttraumatic depreciation (PTD) an inability to make meaning of a traumatic experience and a negative outcome or change. Understanding how PTG and PTD converge, diverge, and impact an individual is crucial in supporting a veteran’s journey to health and well-being.

A comparative study of the cases of two Marine combat veterans who served during OEF/OIF offers numerous similarities: both are in the millennial cohort; both are part of a group becoming the fastest-growing rate of death by suicide in our Nation’s history; both served extended tours; both experienced combat trauma; both experienced posttraumatic stress; both experienced challenges with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) system; both experienced challenges with substance use upon their return home; both struggled to reintegrate back into civilian life; and both became fathers. However, their outcomes to trauma were radically different. One Marine expanded, grew, and persisted in a thriving life. In contrast, one Marine declined, depreciated, and terminated in a suicide death.

Since individuals typically report PTG and PTD following a traumatic event as independent experiences, different processes leading to growth and depreciation infer distinct underlying variables. In sum, “the well-being, or sense of life meaning, a person experiences after dealing with a stressful event can best be understood by understanding both the growth and the depreciation the person has experienced” (Cann et al., 2010, p. 164).