The original Personal Growth Initiative Scale (PGIS; Robitschek, 1998) was unidimensional, despite theory identifying multiple components (e.g., cognition and behavior) of personal growth initiative (PGI). The present research developed a multidimensional measure of the complex process of PGI, while retaining the brief and psychometrically sound properties of the original scale. Study 1 focused on scale development, including theoretical derivation of items, assessing factor structure, reducing number of items, and refining the scale length using samples of college students. Study 2 consisted of confirmatory factor analysis with 3 independent samples of college students and community members. Lastly, Study 3 assessed test-retest reliability over 1-, 2-, 4-, and 6-week periods and tests of concurrent and discriminant validity using samples of college students. The final measure, the Personal Growth Initiative Scale-II (PGIS-II), includes 4 subscales: Readiness for Change, Planfulness, Using Resources, and Intentional Behavior. These studies provide exploratory and confirmatory evidence for the 4-factor structure, strong internal consistency for the subscales and overall score across samples, acceptable temporal stability at all assessed intervals, and concurrent and discriminant validity of the PGIS-II. Future directions for research and clinical practice are discussed.

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This research addressed issues at the heart of counseling psychology: operationalizing mental health and identifying parsimonious ways of predicting levels of mental health. The primary purpose of the study was to investigate the replicability of the structure of C. L. M. Keyes's (2002) model of mental health in 2 samples of college students (total N ϭ 244 women and 223 men). Results of confirmatory factor analyses supported this 3-factor model of psychological, social, and emotional well-being, consisting of 14 subdimensions. Furthermore, this model was found to be invariant for men and women in both samples. The secondary purpose was to assess the effectiveness of personal growth initiative (PGI; C. Robitschek, 1998) as a parsimonious predictor (i.e., 1 predictor for many outcomes) of these multiple dimensions of mental health. Results of structural equation modeling supported PGI as a parsimonious predictor of Keyes's multidimensional mental health model for men and women in both groups. Limitations are discussed, and implications for research and practice in counseling psychology are presented.

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This study tested the validity of scores on the Personal Growth Initiative Scale (PGIS; C. Robitschek, 1998Robitschek, , 1999 with a Mexican American college student sample. Results indicated that the PGIS scores appear to be culturally relevant for this population, with scores on the PGIS having many similar relations with other variables that have been found in prior research with mostly European American college students. PGIS scores appear to be minimally related to measures of cultural constructs for both Mexican American men and women. Results are discussed in terms of their relations to constructs prevalent in Mexican American cultures. Limitations, implications for counseling, and suggestions for future research are presented.

The most effective IGT format appears to include both education about PGI and a growth activity. The benefits of utilising IGT are discussed.