Examination of the Psychometric Properties of the Personal Growth Initiative Scale–II in African American College Students

Abstract

Personal growth initiative (PGI), an individual's active and intentional desire to engage in the growth process, has been an important construct in studies of physical and mental health around the world. However, there is a dearth of research examining this construct in African American samples. In addition, PGI has recently undergone a revision of both its theory and measure; the resulting Personal Growth Initiative Scale-II (PGIS-II) has been validated for use only with European American and international college student samples. The current study examined the psychometric properties of the PGIS-II in a sample of African American college students. Confirmatory factor analyses yielded results consistent with previous studies, and the PGIS-II showed evidence of convergent and discriminant validity for three of its four factors. In addition, the PGIS-II was significantly related to aspects of Black racial identity, suggesting that it is a viable construct in this population.

Systematic Review about Personal Growth Initiative

“…The PGI dimensions (readiness for change, planfulness, using resources, and intentional behavior) were positively and higly associated with personal resources, like selfefficacy (Weigold et al, 2014). The PGI dimensions presented positive and moderate correlations with variables related to personal growth (e.g.…”

“…However, the using resources dimension did not show the same relationship pattern as the other PGI factors, in a way that using resources was positively associated with the original measure of PGI and self-efficacy only (Weigold et al, 2014).…”

“…Analyzed jointly, the results of this study, coupled with the validity evidence of the multifactor structure of the PGIS-II (Robitschek et al, 2012;Weigold et al, 2014;Yakunina et al, 2013a;Yalcin & Malkoc, 2013;Yang & Chang, 2014) indicate the potential of the PGIS-II for use in evaluating PGI.…”

“…The adaptation studies of the PGIS-II showed the stability of the four-factor structure in China (Yang & Chang, 2014); the USA (Weigold et al, 2014;Yakunina et al, 2013a); and Turkey (Yalcin & Malkoc, 2013).…”

“…Only five studies used the PGIS-II as an instrument to evaluate PGI (Luyckx & Robitschek, 2014;Sharma & Rani, 2013Weigold et al, 2014;Yakunina et al, 2013a). The use of the PGIS-II allows the investigation of the cognitive (openness to change and planfulness) and behavioral (using resources and intentional behavior) dimensions of PGI through a multifactorial scale (Robitschek et al, 2012).…”