Personal Growth Initiative Scale–II (PGIS-II)

Abstract

The Personal Growth Initiative Scale–II (PGIS-II) is a psychometrically validated, multidimensional self-report instrument engineered to assess an individual’s active, intentional engagement in the process of personal self-improvement. Developed by Christine Robitschek and colleagues in 2012 as an advanced refinement of the original unidimensional Personal Growth Initiative Scale (PGIS; Robitschek, 1998), the PGIS-II captures both the cognitive and behavioral facets necessary for self-directed personal development. The scale consists of 16 items rated along a 6-point Likert response metric ranging from 0 (Disagree Strongly) to 5 (Agree Strongly). Psychometrically, the instrument measures four correlated yet distinct subscale dimensions: Readiness for Change (evaluating an individual’s cognitive awareness of optimal timing and internal capacity for self-change), Planfulness (assessing strategic organization, goal-setting, and operational planning for growth), Using Resources (measuring external asset utilization, including seeking social, institutional, and material assistance), and Intentional Behavior (gauging concrete behavioral enactment and execution of growth-oriented steps). Extensive empirical evaluations demonstrate that the PGIS-II possesses exceptional psychometric properties across diverse clinical, educational, and cross-cultural cohorts. Confirmatory factor analyses consistently substantiate the four-factor oblique model over unidimensional alternatives, exhibiting robust comparative fit indices ($CFI ge .95$, $TLI ge .94$, $RMSEA le .06$). Internal consistency estimates demonstrate superior reliability, with subscale Cronbach’s alpha ($lpha$) and McDonald’s omega ($\omega$) coefficients typically ranging from $.79$ to $.91$, and total scale composite reliability routinely surpassing $.92$. Furthermore, the PGIS-II exhibits meaningful convergent validity with psychological well-being, self-efficacy, hope, and adaptive coping mechanisms, alongside prominent discriminant validity from generalized distress and passive personality dispositions.

Keywords

Personal Growth Initiative, PGIS-II, Psychometrics, Readiness for Change, Planfulness, Using Resources, Intentional Behavior, Self-Improvement, Well-Being, Proactive Coping

Authors

The Personal Growth Initiative Scale–II was developed and empirically validated by a research team led by Christine Robitschek, Ph.D., along with Matthew W. Ashton, Carlie C. Spering, Nathaniel Geiger, Danielle Byers, Cassie Schotts, and Mark A. Thoen. Dr. Robitschek is an Emeritus Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, United States. Dr. Robitschek’s foundational work conceptualized personal growth initiative (PGI) as an essential psychological asset governing how individuals deliberately guide their psychological development across life transitions, therapeutic interventions, and vocational pathways.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Personal Growth Initiative Scale–II (PGIS-II) is to quantify an individual’s deliberate and constructive agency in personal self-actualization and self-change. While human development naturally occurs through maturation, biological aging, and circumstantial environmental interactions, personal growth initiative explicitly captures the intentional, proactive, and purposeful processes an individual employs to enhance their psychological functioning, competencies, and overall quality of life. The instrument serves vital functions across research and clinical domains by distinguishing between passive adaptation to life events and self-regulated, intentional striving toward positive transformation.

In clinical and counseling psychology, the PGIS-II functions as a powerful diagnostic and outcome-monitoring instrument. Clinicians deploy the measure to evaluate a client’s baseline psychological agency prior to therapeutic intervention. By assessing specific deficits across the cognitive and behavioral components of growth—such as identifying an individual who exhibits high cognitive readiness but lacks behavioral execution, or a client who exhibits rigorous planfulness yet systematically fails to seek social resources—practitioners can customize cognitive-behavioral and humanistic interventions. In psychotherapy process research, the PGIS-II evaluates whether interventions foster long-term self-management skills, ensuring that therapeutic gains are sustained independently post-termination.

Within academic, career counseling, and industrial-organizational environments, the PGIS-II facilitates the assessment of adaptive readiness. Longitudinal investigations establish that individuals exhibiting elevated personal growth initiative demonstrate higher academic persistence, lower vocational indecision, greater organizational adaptability, and superior resilience against professional burnout. Consequently, the instrument offers diagnostic clarity to career coaches, academic counselors, and executive development specialists seeking to foster self-directed learning, proactive goal pursuit, and psychological flourishing in high-stress vocational environments.

Psychological Construct

Personal Growth Initiative (PGI) is defined theoretically as an individual’s active, intentional engagement in the process of personal growth across cognitive, intentional, and behavioral domains (Robitschek, 1998; Robitschek et al., 2012). Unlike passive psychological maturation, PGI represents a non-linear, self-regulated skill set wherein the individual acts as the primary change agent within their life. The PGIS-II expands Robitschek’s original unidimensional framework into four discrete, intercorrelated dimensions reflecting both the cognitive readiness and practical execution of intentional change:

1. Readiness for Change

Readiness for Change represents the cognitive, introspective facet of personal growth initiative. It denotes an individual’s capacity to appraise themselves accurately, discern specific domains requiring transformation, and evaluate whether the present temporal context is appropriate for implementing modifications. Rather than acting impulsively, an individual high in readiness for change possesses elevated self-awareness regarding internal states, vulnerabilities, and emerging growth opportunities. For example, a person scoring high on this subscale recognizes when their current emotion-regulation strategies have become maladaptive and determines that they are emotionally prepared to engage in the vulnerable labor of learning alternative behavioral repertoires.

2. Planfulness

Planfulness reflects the cognitive-strategic structuring of self-change. This dimension captures an individual’s ability to conceptualize, formulate, and prioritize concrete, realistic, and measurable goals directed toward personal improvement. Planfulness bridges the chasm between the vague, abstract desire to “improve” and the tactical structuring of actionable procedures. A person high in planfulness decomposes broad aspirational targets into proximal sub-goals, develops backup plans for anticipated obstacles, and designs sequential steps required to actualize self-evolution.

3. Using Resources

Using Resources embodies the behavioral utilization of external assets to facilitate the growth trajectory. Recognizing that self-directed growth does not occur in social or structural isolation, this dimension captures an individual’s propensity to actively enlist social support, professional mentorship, educational materials, therapeutic relationships, or institutional aids when striving toward self-change. Individuals who score high in this domain reject hyper-individualistic approaches to change; they recognize limitations in their own expertise or coping reserves and intentionally recruit external resources—such as consulting specialized literature, seeking psychotherapy, or requesting constructive feedback from peers.

4. Intentional Behavior

Intentional Behavior measures the direct behavioral implementation and concrete execution of personal development processes. Whereas readiness and planfulness occur primarily within internal cognitive architecture, intentional behavior captures observable action: seizing environmental opportunities, exerting deliberate self-discipline, and taking concrete steps to enact desired modifications. An individual high in intentional behavior avoids chronic procrastination, translates internal resolutions into active behavioral habits, and consistently capitalizes on emergent life experiences as vehicles for meaningful personal maturation.

Theoretical Framework

The conceptual infrastructure of the PGIS-II intersects multiple cornerstone frameworks within contemporary personality, developmental, and clinical psychology:

1. Social Cognitive Theory and Self-Efficacy

The conceptual foundation of PGI relies heavily on Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory, specifically the tenets of human agency and self-efficacy (Bandura, 1997). Bandura posits that humans are not merely reactive organisms driven by environmental conditions or internal impulses, but self-organizing, proactive, self-reflecting, and self-regulating agents. PGI embodies this triadic reciprocal causation, wherein cognitive appraisal (Readiness and Planfulness) dynamically interacts with behavioral enactment (Using Resources and Intentional Behavior) and the environmental context. High PGI individuals exhibit strong agentic beliefs, operating under the conviction that their actions meaningfully govern their psychological trajectory.

2. The Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change

The structural partitioning of the PGIS-II mirrors key cognitive and behavioral shifts detailed in the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change (TTM) developed by Prochaska and DiClemente. TTM delineates stages of change—precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. The PGIS-II operationalizes these developmental stages as ongoing cognitive-behavioral competencies. The Readiness for Change subscale maps directly onto the shift from contemplation to preparation, where individuals determine actionable timing. Planfulness reflects the tactical preparation phase, while Intentional Behavior and Using Resources reflect the active behavioral engagement necessary to cross the threshold into sustainable lifestyle modifications.

3. Eudaimonic Well-Being and Self-Actualization

From a humanistic and eudaimonic standpoint, PGI aligns with Carol Ryff’s multidimensional model of Psychological Well-Being (PWB), specifically the theoretical facet of “Personal Growth” (Ryff, 1989). While Ryff’s Personal Growth dimension measures an evaluative, overarching perception that one is expanding and developing over time, the PGIS-II measures the operational, intentional mechanism through which such development is achieved. The scale assesses the direct tools of self-actualization, reflecting how individuals proactively pursue optimal psychological functioning rather than passively reflecting upon past development.

Validity

The construct, convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity of the PGIS-II has been thoroughly documented across diverse developmental cohorts, clinical contexts, and multinational samples.

Construct and Structural Validity

In the foundational instrument validation study by Robitschek et al. (2012), exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses systematically verified that the four-factor multidimensional model possesses structural stability. Compared against alternative one-factor, two-factor, and orthogonal models, the four-factor oblique model yielded superior goodness-of-fit indices across diverse independent cohorts of university undergraduates and broad community adult samples ($CFI > .95, TLI > .94, RMSEA < .06$). Metric and scalar invariance have also been demonstrated across gender, age cohorts, and diverse racial and ethnic groups, demonstrating structural measurement equivalence.

Convergent Validity

Convergent validity is verified via statistically significant, positive correlations with theoretically aligned psychological constructs:

• Psychological Well-Being (Ryff’s PWB): Total PGIS-II and its subscales demonstrate robust positive correlations with Purpose in Life ($r = .55$ to $.68$), Environmental Mastery ($r = .50$ to $.62$), and Self-Acceptance ($r = .42$ to $.56$).
• Hope and Optimism: Significant associations are observed with Snyder’s Hope Scale ($r = .58$ to $.70$), particularly with the Agency and Pathways components, confirming that PGI encompasses both the cognitive motivation and planned routing toward goals. Strong positive correlations are likewise observed with the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R; $r = .40$ to $.52$).
• General Self-Efficacy: PGIS-II exhibits moderate-to-strong correlations with generalized self-efficacy scales ($r = .52$ to $.65$), underscoring that active growth requires an internal sense of mastery and competency.
• Vocational Identity and Career Exploration: Significant positive correlations exist with career exploration behaviors and career decidedness ($r = .35$ to $.48$), illustrating real-world behavioral translation.

Discriminant Validity

Discriminant validity studies confirm that the PGIS-II captures a distinct psychological construct that does not simply mirror the inverse of distress or broad personality traits:

• Psychological Distress and Affect: Correlations between the PGIS-II and measures of generalized anxiety, depression (e.g., CES-D, PHQ-9), and psychological distress consistently fall in the modest negative range ($r = -.25$ to $-.40$), establishing that PGI is an active, positive resource rather than the mere absence of psychopathology.
• Big Five Personality Dimensions: While displaying moderate positive associations with Extraversion, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience ($r = .30$ to $.45$), the PGIS-II maintains large proportions of unshared variance ($>75%$) with broad personality dimensions, establishing that it measures malleable cognitive-behavioral skills rather than immutable temperament.
• Social Desirability: Correlations with Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability indicators are consistently low ($r < .18$), confirming that scores are not driven by impression management.

Predictive and Longitudinal Validity

Predictive validity research reveals that baseline PGIS-II scores prospectively predict adaptive functional outcomes. Longitudinal evaluations establish that university students scoring high on the PGIS-II exhibit lower academic attrition, higher GPA gains, and lower rates of depressive symptom onset when navigating challenging developmental transitions. In clinical contexts, higher pre-treatment PGIS-II scores predict greater therapeutic engagement, homework adherence in cognitive-behavioral protocols, and post-discharge symptom remission maintenance.

Reliability

The PGIS-II exhibits exemplary reliability metrics across multiple psychometric paradigms, encompassing internal consistency, composite reliability, and temporal test-retest stability.

Internal Consistency

Internal consistency estimates systematically surpass standard psychometric thresholds across varied adult, adolescent, and clinical samples:

• Total Scale: Cronbach’s alpha ($lpha$) for the composite 16-item scale consistently ranges between $.92$ and $.95$, with McDonald’s omega hierarchical ($\omega_h$) confirming a strong general factor alongside specific group dimensions.
• Readiness for Change (4 items): Cronbach’s $lpha$ ranges from $.81$ to $.88$; composite reliability $\rho_c \approx .85$.
• Planfulness (5 items): Cronbach’s $lpha$ ranges from $.84$ to $.91$; composite reliability $\rho_c \approx .89$.
• Using Resources (3 items): Cronbach’s $lpha$ ranges from $.79$ to $.86$; composite reliability $\rho_c \approx .83$.
• Intentional Behavior (4 items): Cronbach’s $lpha$ ranges from $.83$ to $.89$; composite reliability $\rho_c \approx .87$.

Temporal Stability (Test-Retest Reliability)

Temporal stability assessments reflect the conceptualization of PGI as an intentional, malleable set of cognitive-behavioral skills exhibiting state-like sensitivity to intentional change, alongside trait-like stability over short intervals:

• 1-Week to 2-Week Stability: Test-retest reliability correlations across brief intervals yield coefficients ranging from $r = .78$ to $.84$ across subscales, with total scale stability exceeding $r = .86$.
• 6-Week to 8-Week Stability: Over intermediate intervals, subscale test-retest coefficients remain stable between $r = .71$ and $.79$, demonstrating adequate stability in non-interventional cohorts.

Factor Analysis

During the structural transformation of the original unidimensional 9-item PGIS into the multidimensional PGIS-II, extensive exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic approaches were executed by Robitschek et al. (2012).

Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA)

Initial item pools subjected to exploratory factor analysis utilizing principal axis factoring with promax (oblique) rotation cleanly resolved into a four-factor solution based on parallel analysis, the scree test, and eigenvalue analysis (eigenvalues $> 1.0$). The four latent factors accounted for over $62%$ of the total variance. Items demonstrated high primary factor loadings (ranging between $.62$ and $.87$) with negligible cross-loadings ($< .20$), providing clear evidence for the theoretical independence of the dimensions.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)

Confirmatory factor analyses systematically compared multiple competing conceptual models:

• Model 1: Unidimensional Model — All 16 items loading onto a single general PGI latent variable. This model yielded poor fit to empirical data: $\chi^2/df > 6.5$, $CFI < .80$,$TLI < .77$,$RMSEA > .11$.
• Model 2: Higher-Order Model — Four first-order factors loading onto a single second-order general PGI factor. This model exhibited acceptable fit: $\chi^2(100) = 287.4$, $CFI = .94$, $TLI = .93$, $RMSEA = .061$.
• Model 3: Four-Factor Correlated (Oblique) Model — Four distinct, correlated latent factors: Readiness for Change, Planfulness, Using Resources, and Intentional Behavior. This model demonstrated the best empirical fit: $\chi^2(98) = 212.6$, $p < .001$,$CFI = .962$,$TLI = .953$,$RMSEA = .049$ ($90%\text{ CI } [.040, .058]$), $SRMR = .038$.

Standardized factor loadings across all 16 items within the four-factor correlated model are uniformly robust, ranging from $lambda = .65$ to $.86$. Inter-factor correlations among the four latent constructs range from moderate to high ($r = .48$ to $.74$), demonstrating that while these dimensions are unified under the overarching theoretical architecture of personal growth initiative, each subscale accounts for substantial unique variance.

Instrument / Measurement Tool

• Instrument Name: Personal Growth Initiative Scale–II (PGIS-II)
• Developer: Christine Robitschek, Ph.D., et al. (2012)
• Construct Measured: Active, intentional, self-directed engagement across cognitive and behavioral personal growth processes
• Administration Format: Self-report questionnaire; administered via paper-and-pencil or computerized online assessment
• Completion Duration: Approximately 3 to 5 minutes
• Number of Items: 16 items
• Response Metric: 6-point Likert scale (scored 0 to 5):
  • 0 = Disagree Strongly
  • 1 = Disagree Somewhat
  • 2 = Disagree a Little
  • 3 = Agree a Little
  • 4 = Agree Somewhat
  • 5 = Agree Strongly
• Subscale Item Composition:
  • Readiness for Change (4 items): Items 2, 8, 11, 16
  • Planfulness (5 items): Items 1, 3, 5, 10, 13
  • Using Resources (3 items): Items 6, 12, 14
  • Intentional Behavior (4 items): Items 4, 7, 9, 15
• Scoring and Computational Rules:
  • Reverse-Coded Items: None. All 16 items are phrased positively.
  • Subscale Scores: Calculated either as the arithmetic sum of the subscale items or the mean score (sum divided by the number of subscale items). Mean scores retain the original 0–5 metric, facilitating direct cross-subscale comparisons.
  • Total Score: Calculated by summing all 16 items (range: 0 to 80) or computing the overall 16-item mean (range: 0 to 5). Higher scores denote elevated intentional personal growth agency.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Personal Growth Initiative Scale–II was formally published in 2012 by Dr. Christine Robitschek and colleagues in the Journal of Counseling Psychology, following the original 1998 unidimensional PGIS scale. The PGIS-II is considered an open-access psychometric instrument for non-commercial educational, clinical, and scholarly research purposes. Dr. Christine Robitschek and the copyright holders permit the administration and reproduction of the PGIS-II free of charge, contingent upon appropriate academic citation and referencing of the primary validation literature. Commercial applications, software incorporation, or fee-generating assessment battery integrations require explicit, formal licensing agreements from the author.

References

• Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W. H. Freeman and Company.
• Robitschek, C. (1998). Personal growth initiative: The construct and its measure. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 30(4), 183–198. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481756.1998.12068941
• Robitschek, C. (1999). Further validation of the Personal Growth Initiative Scale. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 31(4), 197–210. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481756.1999.12068962
• Robitschek, C., Ashton, M. W., Spering, C. C., Geiger, N., Byers, D., Schotts, C., & Thoen, M. A. (2012). Development and psychometric evaluation of the Personal Growth Initiative Scale–II. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 59(2), 274–287. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027310
• Robitschek, C., & Cook, S. W. (1999). The influence of personal growth initiative and coping styles on career exploration and vocational identity. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 54(1), 127–141. https://doi.org/10.1006/jvbe.1998.1650
• Robitschek, C., & Kashubeck, S. (1999). A structural model of parental alcoholism, family functioning, and psychological health: The mediating effects of hardiness and personal growth orientation. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 46(2), 159–172. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.46.2.159
• Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(6), 1069–1081. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.6.1069
• Simmons, C. A., & Lehmann, P. (Eds.). (2013). Tools for strengths-based assessment and evaluation. Springer Publishing Company.

13. Items of the Scale (Questionnaire)