Longitudinal effects of COVID-19 posttraumatic growth on college adjustment, depressive, and anxiety symptoms

Struggling through the stressful experience of the COVID-19 pandemic can foster posttraumatic growth (PTG), yet its lasting effects are not well understood. The study tracked 2,368 undergraduate and recently graduated students (56% female) between 18 and 30 years old (<i>M</i> = 21.61 years) over four online survey waves, six months apart (September 2022 to May 2024). Path analyses revealed that higher perceived PTG predicted better college adjustment and fewer depressive symptoms one year later, but only among female students. PTG had no effect on anxiety symptoms. COVID-19 stress was linearly associated with PTG, with a weakly curvilinear component. Optimism and social support contributed uniquely to perceived PTG, and social support further moderated the COVID-19 stress-PTG relation such that COVID-19 stress predicted PTG only for students with average and above average social support. These results support the predictive validity of perceived PTG and highlight the value of fostering PTG when coping with adversity, especially among women.