Traumatology, Vol 28(4), Dec 2022, 445-457; doi:10.1037/trm0000360
Due to the stigmatized nature of miscarriage, women face many barriers to disclosure and adequate social support, which may impact positive, postloss adjustment. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship among self-disclosure, positive social reactions to disclosure, and cognitive processes (i.e., rumination) on women’s experiences of positive psychological change following miscarriage. Women who had experienced miscarriage (n = 227) were recruited via social media and completed an online survey that assessed their disclosure, positive social reactions following disclosure, event-related rumination, and posttraumatic growth (PTG). Loss context factors and demographics were also collected. Hypotheses were tested via hierarchical multiple regression and PROCESS macro. The results indicated that disclosure and positive social reactions predicted PTG and that the relationship between positive social reactions and PTG was mediated by deliberate rumination. The findings suggest that disclosing one’s trauma and distress may foster changes in cognitive processing. Also, the response women receive following the disclosure of pregnancy loss was related to their PTG. This study contributes to the literature by providing support for applying posttraumatic growth theory to women who have experienced pregnancy loss. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)