Hope and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Traumatic events can have a debilitating effect on mental health, and may lead to the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, most people can adjust after adversity, and some even experience posttraumatic growth (PTG). Hope theory suggests that hope provides a psychological resource that can help individuals to respond to trauma with resilience. This chapter explores the role of hope as a protective factor preventing the development of PTSD, the relationship between hope and coping in the context of PTSD, and how hope may facilitate PTG. It also discusses how hope may act as a common factor across psychotherapies for the treatment of PTSD. Future research directions include investigating hope as a mechanism of change in psychotherapy for PTSD and the degree to which hope can incrementally predict PTSD and PTG beyond related types of positive thinking.