Examining posttraumatic growth among Japanese university students.
To determine the underlying factor structure of the Japanese version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI-J), a principal components analysis was performed on data from 312 Japanese undergraduate students who reported growth due to their most traumatic event within the last 5 years. Results showed the PTGI-J has high internal consistency and, of the original five factors reported by Tedeschi and Calhoun (1996), three were replicated: Relating to Others, New Possibilities, Personal Strength, and a fourth factor integrating Spiritual Change and Appreciation of Life emerged. There were neither gender differences nor relationships with time since trauma. PTGI-J scores were positively associated with posttraumatic symptoms and correlated with type of traumatic event experienced. These results and future directions are discussed from a cross-cultural viewpoint.
Taku
Kanako
K
Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, North Carolina 28223, USA. ktaku@uncc.edu
Calhoun
Lawrence G
LG
Tedeschi
Richard G
RG
Gil-Rivas
Virginia
V
Kilmer
Ryan P
RP
Cann
Arnie
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*; D013334:Students; D014495:Universities