Adaptation and Psychometric Evaluation of the Ukrainian Version of the Psychological Well-Being Post-Traumatic Changes Questionnaire (PWB-PTCQ)
Abstract
The article presents the cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric evaluation of the Ukrainian version of the Psychological Well-Being Post-Traumatic Changes Questionnaire (PWB-PTCQ) in a sample of male military personnel and veterans with combat experience. The theoretical foundation of the instrument is based on S. Joseph and A. Linley’s organismic valuing theory of growth through adversity, as well as C. Ryff’s eudaimonic model of psychological well-being. The bipolar format allows for capturing both positive and negative directions of perceived changes. The study involved 224 respondents aged 19 to 58 years. The adaptation procedure included forward and back translation, expert reconciliation, and assessment of the semantic equivalence of the items. Psychometric evaluation was conducted using confirmatory factor analysis, internal consistency assessment, measurement invariance testing, correlation analysis, hierarchical regression, and sensitivity analysis. Construct validity was tested using Ukrainian adaptations of the instruments: convergent associations were evaluated with the Post-Traumatic Growth Inventory PTGI-UA, nomological associations with the Impact of Event Scale–Revised IES-R and the Continuous Traumatic Stress Response scale CTSR, and incremental validity using the Satisfaction with Life Scale SWLS. The results confirmed the unidimensional structure of the scale and a high level of model fit to the empirical data (CFI = .967; TLI = .963; RMSEA = .044; SRMR = .039). The robust maximum likelihood (MLR) estimation method was used to estimate the parameters of the unidimensional model, whereas alternative models (the six-factor correlated model, the second-order model, and the bifactor model) were rejected due to improper parameter estimates. The questionnaire demonstrated high internal consistency (α = .931; ω = .931), scalar invariance across age groups, and theoretically expected associations with post-traumatic growth, life satisfaction, post-traumatic stress, and continuous traumatic stress. Sensitivity analysis confirmed the stability of the factor structure and reliability parameters after excluding 44 respondents who reported an ongoing threat at the time of the survey. The obtained results indicate adequate psychometric properties of the Ukrainian version of the PWB-PTCQ and support its use for assessing subjectively perceived post-traumatic changes in psychological well-being in the studied sample.
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References
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