Relationship between Adverse Life Events and Post Traumatic Growth among Comboni Missionary Sisters in East Africa Province

Comboni Missionary Sisters serving in fragile mission contexts are frequently exposed to complex and cumulative adversities that impact their psychological and spiritual well-being. Contemporary research underscores the concept of Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG), describing the constructive psychological evolution that can emerge from the struggle with such traumatic experiences.This study investigated the correlation between Adverse Life Events (ALEs) and PTG among Sisters serving in Uganda and South Sudan. Grounded in theories of stress and coping, the study adopted a correlational research design. The Traumatic Life Events Questionnaire (TLEQ) and the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) were used to survey 63 sisters currently rendering missionary service in East Africa. Findings from a Pearson correlation analysis indicated a statistically significant, weak positive relationship between ALEs and PTG (r = .259, p = .041). The coefficient of determination (r² = .067) indicates that while adversity is a catalyst for transformation, it only accounts for 6.7% of the variance in growth scores. These results suggest that exposure to hardship is a necessary but insufficient predictor of growth, highlighting that 93.3% of the variance is likely driven by spiritual and communal mediating factors. The study concludes that PTG in this context is an active, spiritually grounded achievement, necessitating structured institutional support and trauma-informed vocational frameworks to facilitate transformation.

Post-traumatic growth, adverse life events

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