Evaluation of a modified version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory-Short Form

Abstract

BackgroundPosttraumatic growth is the positive change resulting from traumatic experiences and is typically assessed with retrospective measures like the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). The PTGI was designed to include reference to a specific traumatic event, making it difficult to implement, without change, in prospective survey studies. Thus, a modified Posttraumatic Growth Inventory–Short Form (PTGI-SF) was included in a large prospective study of current and former U.S. military personnel. The current study provides preliminary psychometric data for this modified measure and its ability to assess psychological well-being at a single time point.MethodsThe study population (N = 135,843) was randomly and equally split into exploratory and confirmatory samples that were proportionately balanced on trauma criterion. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were performed to assess the psychometric validity of the modified measure. The final model was also assessed in a subset of the confirmatory sample with a history of trauma using CFA.ResultsResults supported a single-factor model with two additional correlations between items assessing spirituality and items assessing compassion/appreciation for others. This model also fits among the subset with a history of trauma. The resulting measure was strongly associated with social support and personal mastery.ConclusionsThe modified PTGI-SF in this study captures psychological well-being in cross-sectional assessments, in addition to being able to measure posttraumatic growth with multiple assessments. Results indicate that the modified measure is represented by a single factor, but that items assessing spirituality and compassion/appreciation for others may be used alone to better capture these constructs.

Perceived and actual posttraumatic growth in religiousness and spirituality following disasters

“…To assess general religiousness/spirituality, we used the two‐item Spirituality subscale from the 11‐item “Current Standing” PTGI‐SF (C‐PTGI‐SF; Kaur et al, 2017), which was administered at T1 and T2. This subscale's items are “I have an understanding of spiritual matters” and “I have religious faith.” These items parallel the corresponding items on the PTGI‐SF, assessing general religiousness/spirituality over the past 2 weeks; their readministration permits measuring change in general religiousness/spirituality over time.…”

Magnitude of problematic anger and its predictors in the Millennium Cohort

“…Unlike the original PTGI-SF, which asks for retrospective assessment of positive changes in personal perception following a traumatic event, the 11-item version used in the present study assessed current perspectives and did not reference a specific trauma. This current standing version was composed of the PTGI-SF [41] and an additional item about compassion for others. Mean scores were calculated based on participant responses to each item (e.g., "I know that I can handle difficulties," "I have a religious faith," "I have a sense of closeness with others") on a 6-point Likert scale from 0 (Not at all) to 5 (To a very great degree).…”

Magnitude of Problematic Anger and Its Predictors in the Millennium Cohort

“…Unlike the original PTGI-SF, which asks for retrospective assessment of changes in personal perception following a traumatic event, the 11-item version used in the present study assesses current perspectives and does not reference a specific trauma. This current standing version of the PTGI-SF (C-PTGI-SF) was assessed at baseline (27). An additional item about compassion for others was also included.…”