Title : Analysis of post-traumatic growth status and influencing factors in young and middle-aged patients with acute myocardial infarction
Abstract:
Background/Objective: The aim was to investigate the status quo of post-traumatic growth in young and middle-aged patients with acute myocardial infarction(AMI) and analyze its influencing factors.
Design: A descriptive, cross?sectional study.
Methods: A cluster sampling method was used to select middle-aged and young patients with acute myocardial infarction from February to June 2024 in three grade-A hospitals in Henan Province, China as the study objects. The general data questionnaire, the Chinese post-traumatic growth inventory (C-PTGI), the Meta-Cognitions Questionnaire 30 (MCQ-30) and the Chinese Version of Event Related Rumination Inventory (C-ERRI) were used to investigate.
Results: The mean score of C-PTGI in 313 young and middle-aged AMI patients in this study was (58.34±22.13). Regarding the extent of PTG, most positive developments were experienced in the PTG subdimension appreciation of life whereas the subdimension relation to others was the least pronounced domain. Additionally, multiple linear regression results show that positive metacognitive beliefs (POS), negative metacognitive beliefs about the danger and uncontrollability of thoughts (NEG), intrusive rumination, deliberate rumination, marital status, age, medical expenses were associated with PTG.
Conclusions: The results suggest that deliberate rumination and positive metacognitive beliefs can contribute to explain the occurrence of PTG. These findings could help develop psychosocial interventions for young and middle-aged patients with AMI, so as to improve the level of post-traumatic growth and achieve the purpose of improving their prognosis and quality of life.
Audience Take Away:
- The results of this study suggest that young and middle-aged AMI patients who experience traumatic events may also experience positive psychological transformation, namely PTG. Additionally, their subjective perception of PTG experience is influenced by various factors, such as demographic, psychological, disease-related factors. Our study can help health care personnel better understand the nature and promoting factors of psychological growth in young and middle-aged AMI patients, and provide reference for targeted guidance and improvement of clinical psychological care.
- The present study further indicated that individuals’ cognitive processing also may play a role in the development of PTG, pointing to a modifiable factor during AMI treatment. That is, through purposeful introspection, individuals may take positive ways to cope with AMI trauma and contribute to discovering new avenues for growth, exploration, and self-fulfillment. This strengthens the existing recommendation to develop psychosocial interventions to maximize opportunities for deliberate rumination for young and middle-aged patients with AMI.
- Furthermore, results from this study suggest that a reduction in negative metacognitive beliefs, may provide the foundation for experiencing PTG. Thus, metacognitive therapy, which aims to systematically decrease maladaptive metacognitive beliefs, may be a fruitful treatment for those who report lower levels of PTG.
