Posttraumatic Growth in the Context of War: an Empirical Review of Studies 2022–2025
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32999/2663-970X/2026-15-3Keywords:
posttraumatic stress disorder, internally displaced persons, coping strategies, social support, identity transformation, collective posttraumatic growthAbstract
Purpose. This article presents a systematic review of empirical research on posttraumatic growth in the context of war published in 2022–
2025. The primary aim is to synthesize current scientific evidence on the levels, determinants, and psychological mechanisms of posttraumatic growth under war-related conditions, taking into account both individual and collective dimensions of this phenomenon, and to identify common trends and methodological limitations in the existing literature. Methods. The study was conducted as a systematic literature review using the PRISMA framework. Bibliographic searches were performed in Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar. The review included peer-reviewed empirical studies published in 2022–2025 that examined manifestations and predictors of posttraumatic growth in samples of internally displaced persons, civilian populations, helping professionals, and other war-affected groups.
Results. Sixteen studies were included in the final synthesis. Findings indicate that posttraumatic growth is a multidimensional and dynamic process associated with cognitive processing of traumatic experience, types of rumination, adaptive coping strategies, personal resources (e.g., hope, self-efficacy), social support, and identity transformation. Particular attention is given to collective posttraumatic growth, expressed in increased social solidarity and shared meaningmaking in the context of collective traumatic experience. Conclusions. Posttraumatic growth in war conditions is not an automatic consequence of trauma; rather, it develops when individual and social resources are available and when individuals engage in an active process of meaning-making of the lived experience.
Synthesizing current empirical findings deepens theoretical understanding of posttraumatic growth under prolonged wartime exposure and outlines directions for further research – especially the need for future longitudinal studies, including those in the Ukrainian context, to better understand mechanisms of posttraumatic growth during and after war.
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