Examining tenets of personal growth initiative using the Personal Growth Initiative Scale–II.

Abstract

One promising antecedent of optimal functioning is personal growth initiative (PGI), which is the active and intentional desire to grow as a person. PGI theory and its measure, the Personal Growth Initiative Scale, have consistently shown positive relations with optimal functioning and growth. Recently, the PGI theory and its measure have been revised to account for theoretical advances. Consequently, testing of the revised theory and measure is needed to assess their capacity to predict psychological functioning and growth. The current study examined 2 tenets of PGI theory in a sample of college students. Results indicated that 3 of the 4 factors of PGI were positively related to psychological well-being and negatively related to aspects of psychological distress. In addition, the same 3 factors were related to growth in a salient domain (vocational identity development) and explained variance beyond that accounted for by more stable personality traits.