Posttraumatic growth measures in breast cancer survivors: A systematic review

Purpose: The objective of this study was to identify and evaluate the measures used for assessment of posttraumatic growth (PTG) for women survivors with breast cancer and to evaluate the psychometric properties of each instrument. Methods: A systematic review was conducted to identify measurement instruments used for assessment of PTG using electronic databases such as KoreaMed, DBpia, PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Cochrane Library. Studied published both in Korean and/or English were included for the analysis. Studies were examined by two independent reviewers and eighty-nine studies met the inclusion criteria. The selection of the eighty-nine studies was evaluated on methodological and psychometric properties including validity and reliability of the instruments. Results: Three instruments were identified in the review of the eighty-nine studies. The three instruments were identified as 1) Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), 2) Benefit Finding Scale, and 3) Positive Meaning Scale. The PTGI was the most frequently reported instrument used in the review. The majority of the reported studies were used translation and back-translation, but some of the studies did not report translation methods. Most studies (71.9%) reported reliability, but only 29.2% studies reported validity of the instruments used in the study. Conclusion: This study was conducted to provide an evidence for selection and development of measurement instruments of PTG for breast cancer survivors.