| Abstract: | Aim: Owing to the inadequate data to support the valid instrument for assessing the positive changes among patientswith malignant bone tumor, the present study was designed to provide such valid evidence through examining thepsychometric properties of a Chinese version of the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI-C) among these patients,and to evaluate the effects of posttraumatic growth on positive and negative symptoms in malignant bone tumor patients.Methods: Potential patients with malignant bone tumor from five tertiary hospitals were admitted to the hospital duringthe period from January 2013 to October 2017. At the baseline assessment (T1), all patients completed a demographicform, PTGI-C, and Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS). After 4 weeks later (T2), all the patients finishedPANAS and PTGI-C again, and the PTGI-C was re-administered to patients who were simple randomly selected fromthe total sample. Results: The PTGI-C exhibited moderate reliability and validity. The Cronbach’s α coefficient of thetotal scale was 0.91. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the five-factor model and the convergent validity resultsobtained were distinct but correlated. The multiple linear regression analyses showed that posttraumatic growth hada significant prediction on positive affect (F=16.445, p<0.001), accounting for 69.4 % of the variance and as well asthe negative affect (F=8.707, p<0.001), accounting for 48.3 % of the variance. Personal strength at T1 was positivelyassociated with positive affect at T2, and more personal strength and spiritual change at T1 were associated with lessnegative affect at T2. Conclusions: PTGI-C has demonstrated sufficient psychometric properties which indicate thatit is appropriate to measure posttraumatic growth in patients with malignant bone tumor. Relating to others, spiritualgrowth, personal strength and appreciate to life are important factors which contribute to predicting positive affectand negative affect. |
