Relationship between complex posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and posttraumatic growth among adolescents and emerging adults with adverse childhood experiences.

We aimed to investigate the relationship between complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) symptoms and posttraumatic growth (PTG) among adolescents and emerging adults with adverse childhood experiences. A total of 4,581 adolescents and 4,335 emerging adults with adverse childhood experiences completed questionnaires. Network analysis was used to investigate the relationship between CPTSD symptoms and PTG from a variable-centered perspective. Latent profile analysis was used to investigate this relationship from a person-centered perspective. Positive and negative correlations between various dimensions of CPTSD symptoms (especially disturbances in self-organization symptoms) and PTG were found by network analysis. The correlations between posttraumatic stress disorder/disturbances in self-organization symptoms and PTG differed in the two samples. PTG2 (spiritual-existential change) had the highest bridge expected influence value among the two samples. PTG1 (appreciation of life) and PTG4 (relation to others) had the lowest bridge expected influence among adolescents and emerging adults, respectively. By latent profile analysis, five subgroups of CPTSD symptoms and PTG (low reaction group, low disorder-moderate growth group, low disorder-high growth group, coexistence group, and high disorder-low growth group) were identified in the two samples, with different proportions. There were negative and positive correlations between various dimensions of CPTSD symptoms and PTG, which might reflect the constructive (appreciation of life among adolescents; relation to others among emerging adults) and illusory (spiritual-existential change) components of PTG. CPTSD symptoms and PTG exhibited heterogeneous characteristics. The relationship between CPTSD symptoms and PTG differed between adolescents and emerging adults with adverse childhood experiences. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).