Hierarchical Factor Structure of the Turkish Version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory in a Normal Population

Abstract

AIM: Negative consequences of traumatic experiences, such as depression, anxiety, or dissociative symptoms, etc. have been reported by many researchers. However, it is proposed that stressful events not only lead to poor psychological outcomes but also may trigger positive changes. Several instruments gauging posttraumatic benefits have been developed to examine the effects of factors that may promote positive psychological outcomes in the aftermath of stressful events. The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI) is one of the prominent instruments that assess posttraumatic positive changes. In this study we aimed to assess psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the PTGI. METHOD: This study differed to an extent from previous studies concerning the features of the PTGI. We used a dispositional form of the instrument in a sample recruited from high school and university students. Our data were collected from 723 volunteers. 367 subjects were males (50.76%) and 356 subjects were females (49.24%). Also we did not specify any selection criteria in recruiting subjects owing to their adverse life experiences with a presumption that stressful life events are not uncommon in normal population. We administered to participants a dispositional form of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory and the Personal View Survey-III. Item statistics for the measure were computed. We performed an explanatory factor analysis by using principal components with promax rotation and a confirmatory factor analysis by using structural equation modeling. Since the factor inter-correlations were higher than.40 we computed Schmid-Leiman transformation to obtain second-order general factor loadings. Inner consistencies and 15-day test-retest intracorrelations were calculated. RESULTS: Item discrimination indexes ranged from.28 to.72. Promax rotated principal components analysis pointed out a three-factor structure. It was found in model testing with structural equation modeling that three-factor structure was valid for the Turkish version of the PTGI. After computing second-order factor loadings, we detected that general factor accounted for 64 percentage of the total variance. Three subscales of the measure were the Changes in Self-Perception, Changes in Philosophy of Life, and Changes in Relationship. Internal consistency for the Changes in Self-Perception subscale was 0.88, for the Changes in Philosophy of Life subscale was 0.78, for the Changes in Relationship was 0.77, and for the overall items was 0.92. 15-day test-retest intra-correlation for the composite scores was 0.83 and intra-correlations for the subscale scores ranged from 0.70 to 0.85. CONCLUSION: Turkish version of the measure revealed a three-factor first-order structure. However, it seems that the concept of posttraumatic benefits measured by the PTGI has a tendency to represent a unidimensional psychological construct in Turkish sample. Since the three-factor structure was validated, three-subscales may also be used to make an extensive assessment instead of composite scores. The PTGI is a valid and reliable measure to be used in research purposes among Turkish individuals.