Hope and the affective tone of narratives as correlates of posttraumatic growth in people who have lost motor ability

In the article we present data collected from 50 people who lost their motor ability in accidents. Analyses of narrative interviews conducted with the accident victims suggest that a positive affective tone of narratives about the accident itself and the accident’s influence on later life is connected to higher levels of posttraumatic growth. Other factors facilitating the experience of posttraumatic growth were hope and basic trust, as well as the theme of agency present in the narratives.