Near-Death Experiences and Posttraumatic Growth
The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease September 5, 2015 DOI: 10.1097/nmd.0000000000000362 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 251 |
| Population | Survivors of a close brush with death |
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Keywords | Posttraumatic growth Spiritual growth Clinical psychology Existentialism Posttraumatic stress Psychotherapist Theology |
| Citations | 37 |
| Key findings | Near-death experiences were associated with greater posttraumatic growth than close brushes with death without such an experience, and NDE Scale scores correlated significantly with Posttraumatic Growth Inventory scores. |
Abstract
Posttraumatic growth denotes positive psychological change after a traumatic experience that is an improvement over the state before the trauma. Inasmuch as it involves existential reevaluation, posttraumatic growth overlaps with spiritual change, although it also encompasses other domains of positive outcome. This study investigated posttraumatic growth and presence and depth of near-death experience at the time of the close brush with death among 251 survivors of a close brush with death, using the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory and the Near-Death Experience (NDE) Scale. Near-death experiences were associated with greater posttraumatic growth than were close brushes with death in the absence of such an experience, and scores on the NDE Scale were significantly correlated with scores on the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. To the extent that NDEs are interpreted as spiritual events, these findings support prior research suggesting that spiritual factors make a significant contribution to posttraumatic growth and are consistent with the model that posits challenges to the assumptive worldview as a major stimulus to posttraumatic growth.