Intrusive thoughts about traumatic events are an important factor in determining the development of posttraumatic growth, although research has focused on the frequency rather than the type of intrusions. Based on cognitive processing models of posttraumatic growth, the authors present two cross-sectional studies exploring different types of intrusive ruminations about trauma and their associations with posttraumatic growth. Study 1 examines brooding and reflection; Study 2 uses measures of both deliberate and intrusive rumination regarding a past trauma. The results indicate that intrusive reexperiencing and ruminative brooding are not significantly associated with posttraumatic growth, whereas deliberate rumination is significantly positively associated with posttraumatic growth (β = .44, p < .001) and reflection (partial r = .20, p = .003) is positively associated with posttraumatic growth in the context of low brooding.

The Psychological Well-Being Post-Traumatic Changes Questionnaire (PWB-PTCQ) is an 18 item self-report measure to assess perceived changes in psychological well-being following traumatic events. The aim was to test its psychometric properties. Across three samples, evidence is provided for a single factor structure (invariant across clinical and general populations), high internal consistency (␣ Ͼ .87), six month stability, incremental validity over and above existing measures of posttraumatic growth as a predictor of subjective well-being, convergent validity with existing measures of posttraumatic growth (r ϭ .50Ϫ.56. p Ͻ .001), concurrent validity with personality and coping measures, predictive validity of change in well-being over time, discriminant validity with social desirability, and prediction of clinical caseness.

Developing bullying interventions and testing their success depends on the valid and reliable measurement of peer victimization. The objective of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Multidimensional Peer Victimization Scale (MPVS, Mynard & Joseph, 2000). This systematic review examined 34 published studies demonstrating that the MPVS is a reliable, valid, and psychometrically sound measure for capturing multiple facets of peer victimization across a variety of samples. Results also highlighted that there are relatively stable sex differences in the rates and pattern of peer victimization, with males experiencing more direct forms of victimization and females experiencing more indirect forms of victimization. Recommendations for further research are discussed, alongside new ways to further advance the assessment of peer victimization.

This explorative study examines the effects of an internet-based expressive writing intervention on posttraumatic growth. Participants were randomly assigned to either an expressive writing condition (n = 14) or a control writing condition (n = 10), with participants writing for 15 minutes on three separate occasions spaced 3 days apart. Measures of intrusive and avoidant trauma-related thoughts and posttraumatic growth were administered at baseline, 2 week and 8 week post-intervention follow-up. Results indicated that intrusive thoughts decreased and posttraumatic growth increased from baseline to 8 week follow-up in the expressive writing group. Further analyses of language use within the written essays suggested that greater use of insight words was associated with greater improvements in posttraumatic growth over the course of the study. Findings are discussed in the context of cognitive processing models of expressive writing. Implications for internet-administered expressive writing are also discussed.

The current article describes the development and initial psychometric properties of the Retrospective Childhood Fantasy Play Scale (RCFPS), a brief 11 item retrospective self-report measure of preference for, and engagement with, fantasy play during childhood. Five studies were conducted to: (1) develop the initial items for the scale (n=77), (2) determine the underlying factor structure (n =200), (3) test the fit of the model (n =530), and (4) & (5) ascertain construct validity (n =200) and (n =263). Overall, the results suggest that the RCFPS is a uni-dimensional measure with acceptable fit and preliminary validity. The RCFPS may prove useful in educational and developmental research as an alternative to longitudinal studies to further investigate how childhood fantasy play relates to individual differences in adulthood (e.g., in the areas of creativity, theory of mind and narrative skills).