Cross-lagged model, Post-traumatic stress disorder, Post-traumatic growth, Deliberate rumination, Healthcare staff, COVID-19, Psychiatry, RC435-571

Abstract Background Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and post-traumatic growth (PTG) are inspiratory areas of psychological research in which deliberate rumination has important implications. However, these relationships have not yet been assessed in the COVID-19 pandemic using longitudinal designs. Methods In this study, measures of PTSD, PTG, and deliberate rumination were collected from 2,292 healthcare staff members at two-time points six months apart in 2022–2023 from two general hospitals in Hubei Province, China. A cross-lagged analysis was used to simultaneously determine the directional relationships between these three variables. Results The results suggest that the relationship between PTG and deliberate behavior is bidirectional and mutually reinforcing (β = 0.133, P