Relationship between post-traumatic disorder and posttraumatic growth in COVID-19 home-confined adolescents: The moderating role of self-efficacy

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has been traumatogenic for some people, posttraumatic growth (PTG) outcomes have also been observed. This study examined the PTG in adolescents and the moderating effect of self-efficacy on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and PTG. An online questionnaire was conducted on 2090 adolescent Chinese students to measure COVID-19 related exposure, self-efficacy, PTSD, and PTG. PTG prevalence was found in 20.6% of the sample, with the relationship between PTSD and PTG being found to be a reverse U-shaped curve. Objective exposure factors were found to be closely associated with PTSD symptoms but not with PTG. Similarly, subjective feelings of extreme fear were significantly associated with PTSD symptoms but not with PTG. Self-efficacy was found to be positively correlated with PTG (r = 0.551) and to moderate the relationship between PTSD and PTG. For those with low self-efficacy, the higher the PTSD, the higher the PTG, and for those with high self-efficacy, the higher the PTSD, the lower the PTG. As an improved sense of self-efficacy in adolescents could promote positive psychological transformations, these results could assist in identifying self-efficacy levels and providing guidance for targeted psychological interventions to promote positive growth.