Investigating the veracity of self-reported post-traumatic growth: a profile analysis approach

Blackie, Laura E.R.; Jayawickreme, Eranda; Helzer, Erik, G.; Forgeard, Marie, J.C.; Roepke, Ann Marie

Abstract

Research into posttraumatic growth—positive psychological change that people report in their relationships, priorities in life, and self-perception after experiences of adversity—has been severely critiqued. We investigated the degree to which community members’ friends and relatives corroborated targets’ self-perceived positive and negative changes as measured by the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory-42. We found corroboration only for negative changes when we examined overall (averaged) scores. However, using a profile analysis procedure, we found significant participant–informant agreement on the domains of change that had relatively higher scores in the target’s profile and those that had relatively lower scores. Our results demonstrate that informants were able to observe that targets had changed and were sensitive to the idiosyncratic ways in which these changes had manifested in targets’ behavior.

Citation

Blackie, L. E., Jayawickreme, E., Helzer, E. G., Forgeard, M. J., & Roepke, A. M. (in press). Investigating the veracity of self-reported post-traumatic growth: a profile analysis approach. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 6(7), https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550615587986

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 28, 2015
• Online Publication Date: May 22, 2015
• Deposit Date: Sep 22, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 22, 2016
• Journal: Social Psychological & Personality Science
• Print ISSN: 1948-5506
• Electronic ISSN: 1948-5514
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 7
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550615587986
• Keywords: posttraumatic growth, positive illusions, corroboration, profile analysis
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/751453
• Publisher URL: http://spp.sagepub.com/content/6/7/788
• Contract Date: Sep 22, 2016