(PS11-B49) Post-traumatic Stress, Cognitive Fusion, and Intolerance of Uncertainty as Predictors of Post-traumatic Growth from the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Examination

During the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals faced isolation, lockdowns, and threatened death from a rapidly spreading illness. This resulted in harmful psychological effects such as elevated levels of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation (Czeisler et al., 2020). Bridgland et al. (2021) reported that 13.2% of their cross-national sample had suspected PTSD based on self-reported symptoms related to COVID-19 experiences. While the adverse effects are clear, the post-traumatic growth (PTG) literature indicates that positive psychological changes can result from distress or trauma. PTG can be manifested as an increased sense of personal strength, awareness of new possibilities, an enhanced sense of connection with others, an increased appreciation of life, and/or the development of spirituality (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 1996). Post-traumatic stress (PTS) has been positively associated with PTG (Liu et al., 2017). Cognitive fusion and intolerance of uncertainty are two variables that may explain the development of, or inhibition of, PTG. Cognitive fusion has been positively associated with PTS (Bardeen & Fergus, 2016; Benfer et al., 2020) and negatively associated with PTG (Basharpoor et al., 2021). Intolerance of uncertainty has been positively associated with PTS (Kennedy et al., 2021). The relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and PTG is uncertain and inconsistent across the few studies that have studied this topic (Chasson et al., 2022). In the present study, PTS, cognitive fusion, and intolerance of uncertainty data were collected in mid-April of 2020, and PTG data were collected in late-June of 2020 in a follow-up study. To examine the extent that cognitive fusion and intolerance of uncertainty would predict levels of PTG beyond what was explained by demographic variables and PTS, a hierarchical regression analysis was conducted. The overall model was significant, and the predictors accounted for 38.8% of the variance in PTG (R² = .388, F(8, 142) = 11.24, p < .001). Cognitive fusion and intolerance of uncertainty accounted for a significant percentage of the variance in PTG (ΔR²= .035, F(2, 142) = 4.07, p = .02). PTS (β = .49, p < .001) and intolerance of uncertainty (β = .20, p = .03) were related to greater PTG. Cognitive fusion (β = -.28, p</em> = .03) was related to less PTG. These results support the notion that PTS is positively related to PTG. Additionally, cognitive fusion and intolerance of uncertainty were demonstrated to be relevant to the development of PTG. Further exploration of the extent to which PTG may have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic can provide a more complex understanding of the experience.