ASSESSMENT AND PREDICTION OF STRESS-RELATED GROWTH

This article reports the development of the Stress-Related Growth Scal e (SRGS) and its use in a study examining determinants of stress-relat ed positive outcomes for college students. Study 1 analyses showed tha t the SRGS has acceptable internal and test-retest reliability and tha t scores are not influenced by social desirability. Study 2 analyses s howed that college students' SRGS responses were significantly related to those provided by friends and relatives on their behalf. Study 3 a nalyses tested the determinants of stress-related growth longitudinall y Significant predictors of the SRGS were (a) intrinsic religiousness; (b) social support satisfaction; (c) stressfulness of the negative ev ent; (d) positive reinterpretation and acceptance coping; and (e) numb er of recent positive life events. The SRGS was also positively relate d to residual change in optimism, positive affectivity, number of soci ally supportive others, and social support satisfaction, lending furth er support to the validity of this new scale. Results have implication s for current theory on stress-related positive outcomes.