Posttraumatic growth in patients who survived cardiac surgery: the predictive and mediating roles of faith-based factors

Despite the growing knowledge of posttraumatic growth, only a few studies have examined personal growth in the context of
cardiac health. Similarly, longitudinal research is lacking on the implications of religion/spirituality for patients with
advanced cardiac diseases. This paper aims to explore the effect of preoperative religious coping on long-term postoperative
personal growth and potential mediation in this effect. Analyses capitalized on a preoperative survey and medical indices
from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ National Database of patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Participants in the current
follow-up study completed a mailed survey 30 months after surgery. Hierarchical regression analysis was performed to evaluate
the extent to which preoperative use of religious coping predicted growth at follow-up, after controlling for key demographics,
medical indices, mental health, and protective factors. Predictors of posttraumatic growth at follow-up were positive religious
coping and a living status without a partner. Medical indices, optimistic expectations, social support, and other religious
factors were unrelated to posttraumatic growth. Including religious factors diminished effects of gender, age, and race. Including
perceived spiritual support completely eliminated the role of positive religious coping, indicating mediation. Preoperative
positive religious coping may have a long-term effect on postoperative personal growth, explainable by higher spiritual connections
as a part of significance-making. These results suggest that spirituality may play a favorable role in cardiac patients’ posttraumatic
growth after surviving a life-altering operation. The elimination of demographic effects may help explain previously mixed
findings concerning the association between these factors and personal growth.