Richard Tedeschi 

Background. The issue of caring for chronically and seriously ill patients is becoming increasingly relevant all over the world. Relatives caring for such patients typically perform a significant number of functions to maintain the well-being of their ailing loved ones and are often exposed to significant psychological distress or even trauma during the caregiving process. Various tools have been developed to assess such distress, family burden, and burnout among relatives of chronically ill patients. At the same time, there is an acute shortage of tools for assessing the constructive aspects of the transformation of an individual’s values, beliefs and meanings under conditions of chronic stress. One such tool, which allows for the simultaneous assessment of both positive and negative changes in mental functioning resulting from exposure to traumatic events, is the “Posttraumatic Growth and Posttraumatic Depreciation Inventory - Expanded version” (PTGDI-X).

Objective. To define the factor structure and psychometric characteristics of the Russian-language version of the PTGDI-X.

Design. The sample consisted of 404 Russian-speaking informal caregivers (M age = 48.95 years, SD = 13.3; 89 males and 315 females). A quantitative approach with non-experimental, cross-sectional design and instrumental scope.

Results. Analysis of the factor structure using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) indicates that the models of Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) and Posttraumatic Depreciation (PTD) fit the empirical data and confirms the construct validity of the analyzed version of the questionnaire. A significant inverted U-shaped quadratic relationship was found between the scores on the overall PTG scale and the overall PTD scale. The Russian-language version of the questionnaire demonstrated good psychometric characteristics in terms of reliability (Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were .956 for the PTG-total and .942 for the PTD-total scales; McDonald’s omega values were .964 and .952, respectively), internal construct validity, and convergent and divergent cross-validity.

Conclusion. The Russian-language version of the PTGDI-X can be used to study posttraumatic growth and depreciation arising in individuals in various stressful and psychologically traumatic situations.