Adults’ Experiences with Growth and Meaning Following Intense Suffering
Poster Number
7
Session Title
Poster Session 1
Faculty Mentor
Merry Sleigh, Ph.D.
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
Psychology
Abstract
Suffering is traditionally construed as destructive to meaning in life; however, Viktor Frankl suggested that suffering and meaning have a more complicated relationship, with an individual’s attitude toward suffering determining the outcome. Providing some support for this theory, women’s attitudes following trauma result in higher levels of post-traumatic growth than the growth levels experienced by men. We examined Frankl’s theory using quantitative and qualitative data. We hypothesized that adults who reported more intensity during a past trauma/suffering would also have higher levels of meaning, and women would report higher levels of growth than men. Adult participants (n = 115), with a mean age of 41.15 (SD = 10.89) described a time of intense suffering. They then responded to scales to assess their purpose in life, meaning in life, seeking of noetic goals, and post traumatic growth inventory. Last, we asked participants to write a narrative about their life outcomes after the suffering. Results did not support our hypothesis. The intensity of suffering did not predict growth patterns, and people severely impacted by their trauma reduced their search for life’s meaning, exhibiting instead psychological inertia. Some participants reported post-traumatic growth, and believed that outcome to be worth the suffering. Being a woman or more highly educated were associated with increased post-suffering growth, suggesting that response to trauma is multi-faceted and may indeed, as Frankl suggested, be impacted by cognitive appraisal of the situation.
Previously Presented/Performed?
2023 Southeastern Psychological Association Conference, New Orleans, LA, April 2023 | Winthrop University Showcase of Winthrop University Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors, Rock Hill, SC, April 2023
Type of Presentation
Poster presentation
Start Date
15-4-2023 12:00 PM
Adults’ Experiences with Growth and Meaning Following Intense Suffering
Suffering is traditionally construed as destructive to meaning in life; however, Viktor Frankl suggested that suffering and meaning have a more complicated relationship, with an individual’s attitude toward suffering determining the outcome. Providing some support for this theory, women’s attitudes following trauma result in higher levels of post-traumatic growth than the growth levels experienced by men. We examined Frankl’s theory using quantitative and qualitative data. We hypothesized that adults who reported more intensity during a past trauma/suffering would also have higher levels of meaning, and women would report higher levels of growth than men. Adult participants (n = 115), with a mean age of 41.15 (SD = 10.89) described a time of intense suffering. They then responded to scales to assess their purpose in life, meaning in life, seeking of noetic goals, and post traumatic growth inventory. Last, we asked participants to write a narrative about their life outcomes after the suffering. Results did not support our hypothesis. The intensity of suffering did not predict growth patterns, and people severely impacted by their trauma reduced their search for life’s meaning, exhibiting instead psychological inertia. Some participants reported post-traumatic growth, and believed that outcome to be worth the suffering. Being a woman or more highly educated were associated with increased post-suffering growth, suggesting that response to trauma is multi-faceted and may indeed, as Frankl suggested, be impacted by cognitive appraisal of the situation.
