Original title: The Sequential Roles of Psychological Flexibility and Positivity in the Association Between Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms and Depressive Symptoms Among Earthquake Survivors in Türkiye
The researchers surveyed earthquake survivors about traumatic stress, depression, positivity, and psychological flexibilityThe ability to respond to difficult thoughts and feelings in ways that fit the situation, rather than being stuck in one response.—the ability to respond to difficult thoughts and feelings in different ways. More traumatic stress went along with more depressive symptoms and less flexibility and positivity. More flexibility went along with more positivity, and both went along with fewer depressive symptoms. The researchers' analysis found that flexibility and positivity together helped explain the link between traumatic stress and depression, but the survey cannot show what causes what.
Imagine trying to get through a busy day when several things go wrong. It is harder if you feel stuck reacting the same way, and that can make it harder to notice anything positive. In this paper, being stuck maps to lower flexibility, noticing the positive maps to positivity, and the researchers examine how those two steps relate to traumatic stress and depression.
For people recovering after an earthquake, distress may be connected not only to traumatic stress but also to how flexibly they respond to difficult thoughts and feelings. These links may help guide psychological support, though the study does not show that changing either process will reduce depression.
The cross-sectional survey captures one point in time, so it cannot establish that traumatic stress causes lower flexibility or positivity, or that either process causes fewer depressive symptoms. Measures were self-reported, and the findings concern the surveyed earthquake survivors; the abstract does not establish whether the results apply to other groups or settings.
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The Sequential Roles of Psychological Flexibility and Positivity in the Association Between Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms and Depressive Symptoms Among Earthquake Survivors in Türkiye — Adem Peker, Serkan Cengiz, Yüksel Eroğlu et al. — European Journal of Investigation in Health Psychology and Education — doi:10.3390/ejihpe16100158
Abstract licence: CC BY
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper.