ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses posttraumatic growth (PTG) as it relates to military veterans. It begins with an overview of the unique stressors veterans face, followed by summarizing studies on the association between combat experience and PTG, with attention to how elements of the combat experience may lay the groundwork for personal meaning and growth. The chapter also discusses how the prisoner-of-war experience may give rise to PTG. The chapter then explores how posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, conditions highly prevalent among veterans, may provide the impetus for PTG. Implications for clinicians are provided, including mechanisms of military-related PTG, as well as examples of PTG as an important component of treatment programs. Finally, the chapter provides implications for military leaders, including how effective leadership in stressful environments may foster PTG among followers.
