2015 Volume 18 Issue 1 Pages 4-13
[Problem and Purpose] PTG (Posttraumatic Growth) [REMARK #1] expresses the idea that people can grow from painful experiences such as trauma. This study surveyed the reality of PTG among young students from the Great East Japan Earthquake Disaster area, and aimed to find suggestions from the perspective of PTG for teacher support for these young students by investigating the relationship between young students’ PTG and resilience, self-esteem, and social support based on a hypothetical model.
[Methods] An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted from January to February 2014, targeting fourth through sixth graders from four elementary schools and seventh through ninth graders from three middle schools, for a total of 1,387 students from Prefectures A and B, which suffered great damage from the tsunami of the Great East Japan Earthquake. The questionnaire was composed of a children’s version of the PTG scale, a resilience scale, a self-esteem scale, and a social support scale.
[Results] Factor analysis of each scale and the average scores of each item on the PTG scale showed differences by gender and type of school for the average values on each subscale and differences by grade level on the average scores of the PTG scale. Additionally, the hypothesis model on the relationship between PTG and resilience, self-esteem, and social support was supported by covariance structure analysis.
[Discussion] The cultural and religious context of Japan, as well as the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake can be inferred from the average scores of the PTG scale. The change in PTG scores through grade-level progression shows a trend similar to that of Japanese children’s self-esteem; the fact that PTG scores, which drop as grade levels increase, actually rise in ninth grade points to the importance of conveying to children the possibilities and hopes for the future. Additionally, covariance structure analysis results suggested that it will be important to comprehensively nurture resilience, self-esteem, and social support in children, and that self-esteem will become a fundamental basis for supporting PTG.
