UNDERSTANDING POSITIVE CHANGE FOLLOWING TRAUMA AND ADVERSITY: STRUCTURAL CLARIFICATION

Abstract

Growing interest in positive change following trauma and adversity has prompted the development of a number of different labels and measurement instruments. This proliferation has led to some conceptual confusion, due to the different labels being used, and structural confusion, due to the different numbers of underlying factors proposed. The present study addressed both these questions through exploratory principal components analysis of three different growth measures. One hundred seventy six adults (113 women, 63 men), who had experienced a range of distressing life events, completed the Perceived Benefit Scales, the Thriving Scale, and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. Results revealed that all subscales loaded highly on a single component, although the possibility of three second-order components of interpersonal relationships, self-perception, and spirituality, was also noted. Discussion focuses on the implications for understanding the concept and structure of positive change following adversity.