A short form of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory

Anxiety Stress Coping. 2010;23(2):127-37. doi: 10.1080/10615800903094273.

Abstract

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.

MeSH terms

  • Adaptation, Psychological*
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Bereavement
  • Domestic Violence / psychology
  • Factor Analysis, Statistical
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Leukemia / psychology
  • Life Change Events*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Psychological Tests*
  • Psychometrics
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Young Adult