Research on discrimination and health: An exploratory study of unresolved conceptual and measurement issues.

The development of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, an instrument for assessing positive outcomes reported by persons who have experienced traumatic events, is described. This 21-item scale includes factors of New Possibilities, Relating to Others, Personal Strength, Spiritual Change, and Appreciation of Life. Women tend to report more benefits than do men, and persons who have experienced traumatic events report more positive change than do persons who have not experienced extraordinary events. The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory is modestly related to optimism and extraversion. The scale appears to have utility in determining how successful individuals, coping with the aftermath of trauma, are in reconstructing or strengthening their perceptions of self, others, and the meaning of events.

There is overwhelming evidence that traumatic events can produce many negative physical and psychological consequences. Although researchers have extensively studied the negative effects of trauma, there has been much less attention paid to the possibility of positive impact of negative events. However, there is a body of literature suggesting that people exposed to even the most traumatic events may perceive at least some good emerging from their struggle with such tragedies as rape (

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Cognitive processes in the aftermath of experiencing a major life stressor play an important role in the impact of the event on the person. Intrusive thoughts about the event are likely to be associated with continued distress, while deliberate rumination, aimed at understanding and problem-solving, should be predictive of posttraumatic growth (PTG). The Event Related Rumination Inventory (ERRI), designed to measure these two styles of rumination, is described and validation information is provided. Using a college student sample screened for having experienced highly stressful life events, data were obtained (N=323) to conduct an exploratory factor analysis that supported the two factors of the ERRI. Separate confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) on two additional samples (Ns=186 and 400) supported a two-factor model. The two ERRI factors were validated by comparison with related variables and by assessing their contributions to predicting distress and PTG in two samples (Ns=198 and 202) that had been combined to conduct the second CFA. Data indicate the ERRI has solid psychometric properties, captures variance not measured by stable differences in cognitive styles, and the separate factors are related to posttraumatic distress and growth as predicted by existing models of PTG.

A short form of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI-SF) is described. A sample of 1351 adults who had completed the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) in previous studies provided the basis for item selection. The resulting 10-item form includes two items from each of the five subscales of the original PTGI, selected on the basis of loadings on the original factors and breadth of item content. A separate sample of 186 completed the short form of the scale (PTGI-SF). Confirmatory factor analyses on both data sets demonstrated a five-factor structure for the PTGI-short form (PTGI-SF) equivalent to that of the PTGI. Three studies of homogenous clinical samples (bereaved parents, intimate partner violence victims, and acute leukemia patients) demonstrated that the PTGI-SF yields relationships with other variables of interest that are equivalent to those found using the original form of the PTGI. A final study demonstrated that administering the 10 short-form items in a random order, rather than in the fixed context of the original scale, did not impact the performance of the PTGI-SF. Overall, these results indicate that the PTGI-SF could be substituted for the PTGI with little loss of information.

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The present study examined the degree to which event related rumination, a quest orientation to religion, and religious involvement is related to posttraumatic growth. Fifty-four young adults, selected based on prescreening for experience of a traumatic event, completed a measure of event related ruminations, the Quest Scale, an index of religious participation, and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. The three subscales of the Quest Scale, the two groups of rumination items (soon after event/within past two weeks), and the index of religious participation were entered in a standard multiple regression with the total score of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory as the dependent variable. The degree of rumination soon after the event and the degree of openness to religious change were significantly related to Posttraumatic Growth. Congruent with theoretical predictions, more rumination soon after the event, and greater openness to religious change were related to more posttraumatic growth. Present findings offer some confirmation of theoretical predictions, and also offer clear direction for further research on the relationships of religion, rumination, and posttraumatic growth.