Psychological Development and Education ›› 2018, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (1): 112-119.doi: 10.16187/j.cnki.issn1001-4918.2018.01.14

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Mediating Roles of Meaning in Life in the Relationship between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Posttraumatic Growth and Prosocial Behavior among Adolescents after the Wenchuan Earthquake

WANG Wenchao1, WU Xinchun1, TIAN Yuxin1, ZHOU Xiao1,2   

  1. 1. Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;
    2. Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310028, China
  • Online:2018-01-15 Published:2018-01-15

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Abstract: To examine the mediating roles of meaning in life in the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), posttraumatic growth (PTG) and prosocial behavior, 1082 adolescents were assessed by adopting traumatic exposure questionnaire, the revised child PTSD symptom scale, posttraumatic growth inventory, meaning in life questionnaire and prosocial behavior questionnaire at eight and a half years after Wenchuan earthquake. The mediating roles would be assessed by using structural equation model, wherein the traumatic exposure would be controlled because its importance. The results found that after controlled traumatic exposure,both the presence of meaning and search for meaning mediated partly the relationship between PTSD, PTG and prosocial behavior. On the one hand, PTSD has a directly and negative effect on prosocial behavior and PTG has a directly and positive effect on prosocial behavior. On the other hand, PTSD could affect prosocial behavior negatively through presence of meaning while had a positive effect on prosocial behavior through search for meaning. Additionally, PTG has indirect and positive effect on prosocial behavior by presence of meaning and search for meaning.

Key words: adolescents, PTSD, PTG, meaning in life, prosocial behavior

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