HE ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE CONCEPT OF “POST-TRAUMATIC GROWTH” AND RELATED CONCEPTS

Abstract

The article provides a general overview of the concept of ‘post-traumatic growth’ (PTG), according to the concept of R. Tedeschi and L. Calhoun. The historical review of the emergence of the concept of PTG and the analysis of the author's research on this topic showed that it should be separated from such related concepts as: ‘resilience’, ‘resilient reintegration’, ‘positive adaptation’, ‘psychological immunity’, ‘thriving’.
The article aims to highlight each listed concept’s specific characteristics and properties to distinguish it from the PTG. The result of the conducted theoretical analysis is a list of criteria for comparing the studied concepts, including the presence of a traumatic situation, the level of personality development relative to the pre-traumatic (initial) level, and the possibility of external influence on this personal aspect. 
In our research, we agree with the theoretical understanding of the concept of PTG determined by R. Tedeschi and L. Calhoun. We define PTG, therefore, as the experience of positive changes that occur in a person due to encountering crisis life situations.
A comparison of PTG with resilience showed that the second one applies to any event (not only traumatic); it is a set of abilities and skills (not a result and a phenomenon), and it can be developed or changed (while PTG can only be facilitated). The concept of ‘resilient reintegration’, derived from the previous one, is appropriate to use only in the context of combatants (whereas PTG refers to any person who has survived a trauma).
The concept of psychological immunity differs from PTG in its specific personal aspects: psychological immunity does not define a specific area of personal change, while the PTG distinguishes three dimensions of growth, according to the concept S. Joseph. 
Thriving presupposes the individual’s resistance to negative life events with subsequent improvement in the quality of life. However, such positive transformations do not lead to significant personality transformations and do not necessarily have to be caused by trauma. Comparing PTG with positive adaptation is more challenging as the approaches to understanding this concept vary heavily.