The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma

TLDR

The study describes the creation of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, a tool to assess positive outcomes following trauma. The inventory comprises 21 items covering New Possibilities, Relating to Others, Personal Strength, Spiritual Change, and Appreciation of Life. Women report greater benefits than men, trauma survivors show more positive change than non‑trauma individuals, the inventory correlates modestly with optimism and extraversion, and it aids in assessing how well people reconstruct self, others, and meaning after trauma.

Abstract

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.