Open Access

ARTICLE

Latent Profile of Time Perspective, Rumination, and Emotional Approach Coping among Trauma-Exposed Individuals: Exploring Impacts on Posttraumatic Growth and Predictors

Jubin Park, Jae-Chang Sim, Sun-Young Im^*
Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Hallym University, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea
* Corresponding Author: Sun-Young Im. Email:

International Journal of Mental Health Promotion https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2026.082397

Received 15 March 2026; Accepted 11 May 2026; Published online 08 June 2026

Abstract

Background: In the context of growing uncertainty and intersecting societal crises, trauma has become a common psychological experience that deeply affects individuals’ identities, beliefs, temporal orientation, and emotional regulation. Posttraumatic growth (PTG) emerges through processes of inner struggle and meaning reconstruction, and recovery should be understood as a complex system shaped by interacting cognitive and emotional factors. This study aimed to classify trauma-exposed individuals based on combinations of key psychological variables and examine predictors of latent profile membership, as well as differences in PTG across classes. Methods: A total of 388 Korean adults with trauma histories completed measures of time perspective, rumination, emotional approach coping, event centrality, and PTG. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted, followed by R3STEP to evaluate the effects of event centrality, age, and religiosity on class membership, and DU3STEP to test between-class differences. Results: Five latent profiles were identified: maladaptive time perspective with passive processing, ambiguous time perspective with moderate processing, adaptive time perspective with growth-oriented processing, maladaptive time perspective with active processing, and disorganized time perspective with active processing. Event centrality emerged as the strongest predictor of profile membership, with age and religiosity also contributing to class differentiation. Significant differences in PTG were observed across profiles (Wald χ² (4) = 527.78, p < 0.001), with the adaptive time perspective and growth-oriented processing profile showing the highest PTG levels (Mean = 4.19, SE = 0.05), which was significantly higher than the maladaptive-passive profile (Class 1; Mean = 1.61, SE = 0.24), demonstrating a substantial range in posttraumatic adaptation. Conclusion: Posttraumatic growth emerges not through psychological stability, but through the active cognitive-emotional integration of traumatic events, even amidst disorganized temporal orientations. The findings identify event centrality and adaptive time perspectives as the primary drivers of growth, shifting the focus of trauma recovery from mere symptom reduction to the structural reorganization of life narratives.

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Keywords

Posttraumatic growth; event centrality; time perspective; rumination; emotional approach coping; latent profile analysis

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