Industrial and organisational (I-O) psychology is a profession which entails a broad spectrum of working activities. One of these activities is workplace counselling which forms a significant part of the internship programme. However, interns often lack the necessary skills to provide counselling. In order to function in a counselling role, the I-O psychologist should have the necessary training to be equipped with counselling skills. It is evident from previous studies that I-O psychology practitioners often feel they lack the ability to counsel individuals sufficiently. Therefore it is important for I-O psychology students to focus on their development to become effective counsellors by focussing on their inter- and intrapersonal skills as part of the skills package as a counsellor. Personal Growth Initiative (PGI) is one way of measuring a person’s intrapersonal skills in terms of the individual’s intention to change and grow. The main aim of this study was to measure the prevalence of PGI among I-O psychology students. Participation in this study was limited to I-O psychology students (N = 568). The students differed in terms of gender, age, ethnicity, and language. The results provided the researcher with an indication of what the students’ intention to grow and develop as an individual entails in order to provide a basis for further research, namely to develop a training programme for I-O psychology students as workplace counsellors.. The PGI of the students were measured by means of the Personal Growth Initiative Scale (PGIS). This is a nine-item instrument with a six-point Likert type scale ranging from 0 (definitely disagree) to 6 (definitely agree). The results indicated that PGI is prevalent among the I-O psychology students. Furthermore, the study showed that PGI is relevant to all gender and ethnic groups amongst I-O psychology students. Significant differences were found for the different ages and languages. From the results it is recommended that higher education institutions adapt training programmes to foster personal growth initiative amongst I-O psychology students. Future research can also make use of the PGIS-II to measure PGI as this is the latest version of the construct. In terms of the organisation it is recommended that I-O practitioners should be more growth focussed. / MCom (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Industrial and organisational (I-O) psychology is a profession which entails a broad spectrum of working activities. One of these activities is workplace counselling which forms a significant part of the internship programme. However, interns often lack the necessary skills to provide counselling. In order to function in a counselling role, the I-O psychologist should have the necessary training to be equipped with counselling skills. It is evident from previous studies that I-O psychology practitioners often feel they lack the ability to counsel individuals sufficiently. Therefore it is important for I-O psychology students to focus on their development to become effective counsellors by focussing on their inter- and intrapersonal skills as part of the skills package as a counsellor. Personal Growth Initiative (PGI) is one way of measuring a person’s intrapersonal skills in terms of the individual’s intention to change and grow. The main aim of this study was to measure the prevalence of PGI among I-O psychology students. Participation in this study was limited to I-O psychology students (N = 568). The students differed in terms of gender, age, ethnicity, and language. The results provided the researcher with an indication of what the students’ intention to grow and develop as an individual entails in order to provide a basis for further research, namely to develop a training programme for I-O psychology students as workplace counsellors.. The PGI of the students were measured by means of the Personal Growth Initiative Scale (PGIS). This is a nine-item instrument with a six-point Likert type scale ranging from 0 (definitely disagree) to 6 (definitely agree). The results indicated that PGI is prevalent among the I-O psychology students. Furthermore, the study showed that PGI is relevant to all gender and ethnic groups amongst I-O psychology students. Significant differences were found for the different ages and languages. From the results it is recommended that higher education institutions adapt training programmes to foster personal growth initiative amongst I-O psychology students. Future research can also make use of the PGIS-II to measure PGI as this is the latest version of the construct. In terms of the organisation it is recommended that I-O practitioners should be more growth focussed. / MCom (Industrial Psychology), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Prior research on maternal postpartum care, the transition to motherhood, pelvic floor dysfunction, and pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) has revealed that postpartum women are often denied the basic information, instruction, and preventive strategies necessary for optimal postbirth rehabilitation and psychological well-being. Employing a dual framework of self-determination theory and personal growth initiative (PGI) theory, this quantitative study utilized a cross-sectional design to investigate if autonomy, competence, and relatedness satisfaction predicted PGI in postpartum women. Differences in autonomy, competence, relatedness, and PGI between PFMT practicing and nonpracticing postpartum women were also examined. A web-based survey method was employed to collect data from 229 postpartum women, which consisted of 121 women not practicing PFMT and 108 women practicing PFMT. The Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale measured autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The PGI Scale-II measured PGI. Standard multiple regression and 4 independent-samples t tests were used to analyze the data. Results indicated that autonomy, competence, and relatedness predicted PGI. There were no significant mean differences between PFMT practicing and nonpracticing women. These findings have implications for positive social change such that the medical community and policy makers can utilize the fulfillment of postpartum women's needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness to improve women's odds for optimal adjustment and adaptation to life after childbirth.

A presente tese agrupa quatro estudos que objetivam investigar as relações dos recursos pessoais com os índices de bem-estar dos indivíduos. Foi realizada uma revisão de literatura sobre a iniciativa ao crescimento pessoal, a fim de compreender em profundidade o construto de iniciativa ao crescimento pessoal. Posteriormente, foram desenvolvidos três estudos empíricos. O primeiro artigo empírico refere-se ao estudo de adaptação e avaliação das propriedades psicométricas da versão brasileira da Escala de Iniciativa ao Crescimento Pessoal – II (Personal Growth Initiative Scale – II, PGI-II). Foi observado que a versão brasileira da PGI-II constitui-se como um instrumento confiável para investigar os índices de disponibilidade para mudança, planejamento, comportamento intencional e uso de recursos, apresentando uma estrutura de quatro fatores de primeira ordem. O segundo artigo empírico avaliou se as relações das dimensões da iniciativa ao crescimento pessoal com os níveis de bem-estar subjetivo eram mediadas pela presença de sentido de vida. Foi observado que a presença de sentido de vida media o impacto das dimensões planejamento e comportamento intencional sobre os níveis de satisfação com a vida, afetos positivos e negativos. As dimensões disponibilidade para mudança e uso de recursos não estiveram relacionadas aos índices de presença de sentido de vida. As dimensões disponibilidade para mudança e uso de recursos estiveram negativamente associadas aos níveis de bem-estar subjetivo. O terceiro artigo empírico avaliou se as relações entre otimismo, pessimismo e autoestima com os índices de estresse, satisfação com a vida, afetos positivos e negativos eram mediados pelos níveis de presença de sentido de vida. Os resultados demonstraram que as relações entre o otimismo e autoestima com os índices de estresse, afetos positivos e negativos foram parcialmente mediados pelos níveis de presença de sentido de vida. Entretanto, as relações dos índices de pessimismo com estresse, satisfação com a vida, afetos positivos e negativos não foram mediados pelos níveis de presença de sentido de vida. Estudos futuros devem avaliar se as relações dos recursos pessoais com bem-estar subjetivo e estresse são replicáveis a outras amostras. A principal contribuição desta tese foi disponibilizar uma escala para investigar a iniciativa ao crescimento pessoal no contexto brasileiro. Além disso, os resultados deste estudo avançam o conhecimento sobre as relações entre os recursos pessoais e as dimensões de bem-estar. / This thesis join up four studies that aims to investigate the relationship of levels of personal resources with well-being of individuals. A literature review on the personal growth initiative was carried out in order to understand in depth the construct of personal growth initiative. Later, three empirical studies were developed. The first empirical paper refers to the study of adaptation and evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Personal Growth Initiative Scale - II (Personal Growth Initiative Scale - II, PGI-II). It was observed that the Brazilian version of PGI-II was established as a reliable instrument to investigate the levels of readiness for change, planfulness, intentional behavior and using resources, with a four first-order factor structure. The second empirical research evaluated if presence of meaning in life mediated the relationships of the dimensions of personal growth initiative with subjective well-being. It was observed that the presence of meaning in life measured the impact of dimensional planning and intentional behavior on levels of satisfaction with life, positive and negative affect. The dimensions readiness for change and using resources were not related to levels of presence of meaning in life. The dimensions readiness for change and using resources were negatively associated with levels of subjective well-being. The third empirical research has evaluated if presence of meaning in life mediated the relationships of optimism, pessimism and self-esteem with levels of stress, life satisfaction, positive and negative affect. The results showed that the relationship between optimism and self-esteem with levels of stress, positive affect and negative were partially mediated by levels of presence of meaning in life. However, the relations of pessimism with stress, life satisfaction, positive affect and negative were not mediated by levels of presence of meaning in life. Future studies should evaluate if the relations of personal resources with subjective well-being and stress are replicable to other samples. The main contribution of this thesis was to provide a scale to investigate the initiative to personal growth in the Brazilian context. In addition, the results of this study advance the understanding of the relationship between personal resources and well-being.

A presente tese agrupa quatro estudos que objetivam investigar as relações dos recursos pessoais com os índices de bem-estar dos indivíduos. Foi realizada uma revisão de literatura sobre a iniciativa ao crescimento pessoal, a fim de compreender em profundidade o construto de iniciativa ao crescimento pessoal. Posteriormente, foram desenvolvidos três estudos empíricos. O primeiro artigo empírico refere-se ao estudo de adaptação e avaliação das propriedades psicométricas da versão brasileira da Escala de Iniciativa ao Crescimento Pessoal – II (Personal Growth Initiative Scale – II, PGI-II). Foi observado que a versão brasileira da PGI-II constitui-se como um instrumento confiável para investigar os índices de disponibilidade para mudança, planejamento, comportamento intencional e uso de recursos, apresentando uma estrutura de quatro fatores de primeira ordem. O segundo artigo empírico avaliou se as relações das dimensões da iniciativa ao crescimento pessoal com os níveis de bem-estar subjetivo eram mediadas pela presença de sentido de vida. Foi observado que a presença de sentido de vida media o impacto das dimensões planejamento e comportamento intencional sobre os níveis de satisfação com a vida, afetos positivos e negativos. As dimensões disponibilidade para mudança e uso de recursos não estiveram relacionadas aos índices de presença de sentido de vida. As dimensões disponibilidade para mudança e uso de recursos estiveram negativamente associadas aos níveis de bem-estar subjetivo. O terceiro artigo empírico avaliou se as relações entre otimismo, pessimismo e autoestima com os índices de estresse, satisfação com a vida, afetos positivos e negativos eram mediados pelos níveis de presença de sentido de vida. Os resultados demonstraram que as relações entre o otimismo e autoestima com os índices de estresse, afetos positivos e negativos foram parcialmente mediados pelos níveis de presença de sentido de vida. Entretanto, as relações dos índices de pessimismo com estresse, satisfação com a vida, afetos positivos e negativos não foram mediados pelos níveis de presença de sentido de vida. Estudos futuros devem avaliar se as relações dos recursos pessoais com bem-estar subjetivo e estresse são replicáveis a outras amostras. A principal contribuição desta tese foi disponibilizar uma escala para investigar a iniciativa ao crescimento pessoal no contexto brasileiro. Além disso, os resultados deste estudo avançam o conhecimento sobre as relações entre os recursos pessoais e as dimensões de bem-estar. / This thesis join up four studies that aims to investigate the relationship of levels of personal resources with well-being of individuals. A literature review on the personal growth initiative was carried out in order to understand in depth the construct of personal growth initiative. Later, three empirical studies were developed. The first empirical paper refers to the study of adaptation and evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Personal Growth Initiative Scale - II (Personal Growth Initiative Scale - II, PGI-II). It was observed that the Brazilian version of PGI-II was established as a reliable instrument to investigate the levels of readiness for change, planfulness, intentional behavior and using resources, with a four first-order factor structure. The second empirical research evaluated if presence of meaning in life mediated the relationships of the dimensions of personal growth initiative with subjective well-being. It was observed that the presence of meaning in life measured the impact of dimensional planning and intentional behavior on levels of satisfaction with life, positive and negative affect. The dimensions readiness for change and using resources were not related to levels of presence of meaning in life. The dimensions readiness for change and using resources were negatively associated with levels of subjective well-being. The third empirical research has evaluated if presence of meaning in life mediated the relationships of optimism, pessimism and self-esteem with levels of stress, life satisfaction, positive and negative affect. The results showed that the relationship between optimism and self-esteem with levels of stress, positive affect and negative were partially mediated by levels of presence of meaning in life. However, the relations of pessimism with stress, life satisfaction, positive affect and negative were not mediated by levels of presence of meaning in life. Future studies should evaluate if the relations of personal resources with subjective well-being and stress are replicable to other samples. The main contribution of this thesis was to provide a scale to investigate the initiative to personal growth in the Brazilian context. In addition, the results of this study advance the understanding of the relationship between personal resources and well-being.

Within the psychological literature two main approaches can be identified as influential factors in the increase of well-being, defined in this thesis as Hedonic (SWB) vs. Eudaimonic Well-Being (PWB). One of the key qualities of the human mind is its ability to think about and act upon the future. The first approach emphasises the role of psychological strengths related to the utilisation of foresight and planning in such a way as to influence the consequences of current actions. The second approach focuses on the function of basic personality traits in the setting of goals and mental functioning. To integrate these approaches, this thesis brings together two lines of research: future-orientation and personality traits. Two longitudinal studies investigate the predictive qualities of future-orientated constructs in relation to personality traits, while also focusing on their contribution to the setting and attainment of goals and the perception of well-being. In the first study two cognitive-motivational scales, Hope and Personal Growth Initiative (PGI), were administered to measure two hundred and sixty four participants’ future-orientation. The first aim of this study was to examine the distinctiveness of these two scales in predicting well-being. Results from factor analyses cast doubt on the uniqueness of Hope and PGI, while regression analyses demonstrate Hope to be the strongest, most significant predictor of PWB and SWB. A further aim of the study was to ascertain if future-orientation could account for additional variance in the prediction of well-being, after the influence of the Eysenck’s Personality traits have been controlled for. It was indicated that individuals’ Hope levels do account for residual variance in PWB and SWB. The last aim of the study was to determine if future-orientation could contribute to long-term goal attainment and well-being. The results indicate that participant’s Hope levels did not significantly contribute to long-term goal attainment, however it had a direct, significant effect on long-term PWB. The second study, utilising 117 participants, replicated prior findings that demonstrate Hope, instead of PGI, to be the strongest, most significant predictor of both PWB and SWB. The study also extents prior research by utilising the Big-Five traits in the prediction of PWB and SWB. Factor analyses results indicate Hope to share an underlying factor structure with Openness and Conscientiousness, while PGI share an underlying factor structure with Agreeableness. It was further indicated that participants’ Hope, but not PGI, accounts for residual variance in the prediction of PWB, after controlling for the Big-Five traits. Conversely, Hope and PGI did not account for any residual variance in the prediction of SWB, instead almost 60% of the variance can be attributed to the Big-Five personality traits. Extending the first study, the aim of the second study was to ascertain attainment through independent verification and not participant self-assessment. The results indicate that participants who demonstrate greater levels of Openness and PGI tend to set higher quantitative goals. Although not predictive of goal attainment, participants with greater Openness showed higher performance on the goals. Overall, the results question the distinctiveness of Hope and PGI in the prediction of well-being. It adds to our knowledge of how psychological strengths such as future-orientation can contribute variance to the prediction of well-being after basic personality traits have been controlled for. Finally the results also add to our understanding of how personality traits, as well as, Hope and PGI independently contribute to the setting of goals.

A presente tese agrupa quatro estudos que objetivam investigar as relações dos recursos pessoais com os índices de bem-estar dos indivíduos. Foi realizada uma revisão de literatura sobre a iniciativa ao crescimento pessoal, a fim de compreender em profundidade o construto de iniciativa ao crescimento pessoal. Posteriormente, foram desenvolvidos três estudos empíricos. O primeiro artigo empírico refere-se ao estudo de adaptação e avaliação das propriedades psicométricas da versão brasileira da Escala de Iniciativa ao Crescimento Pessoal – II (Personal Growth Initiative Scale – II, PGI-II). Foi observado que a versão brasileira da PGI-II constitui-se como um instrumento confiável para investigar os índices de disponibilidade para mudança, planejamento, comportamento intencional e uso de recursos, apresentando uma estrutura de quatro fatores de primeira ordem. O segundo artigo empírico avaliou se as relações das dimensões da iniciativa ao crescimento pessoal com os níveis de bem-estar subjetivo eram mediadas pela presença de sentido de vida. Foi observado que a presença de sentido de vida media o impacto das dimensões planejamento e comportamento intencional sobre os níveis de satisfação com a vida, afetos positivos e negativos. As dimensões disponibilidade para mudança e uso de recursos não estiveram relacionadas aos índices de presença de sentido de vida. As dimensões disponibilidade para mudança e uso de recursos estiveram negativamente associadas aos níveis de bem-estar subjetivo. O terceiro artigo empírico avaliou se as relações entre otimismo, pessimismo e autoestima com os índices de estresse, satisfação com a vida, afetos positivos e negativos eram mediados pelos níveis de presença de sentido de vida. Os resultados demonstraram que as relações entre o otimismo e autoestima com os índices de estresse, afetos positivos e negativos foram parcialmente mediados pelos níveis de presença de sentido de vida. Entretanto, as relações dos índices de pessimismo com estresse, satisfação com a vida, afetos positivos e negativos não foram mediados pelos níveis de presença de sentido de vida. Estudos futuros devem avaliar se as relações dos recursos pessoais com bem-estar subjetivo e estresse são replicáveis a outras amostras. A principal contribuição desta tese foi disponibilizar uma escala para investigar a iniciativa ao crescimento pessoal no contexto brasileiro. Além disso, os resultados deste estudo avançam o conhecimento sobre as relações entre os recursos pessoais e as dimensões de bem-estar. / This thesis join up four studies that aims to investigate the relationship of levels of personal resources with well-being of individuals. A literature review on the personal growth initiative was carried out in order to understand in depth the construct of personal growth initiative. Later, three empirical studies were developed. The first empirical paper refers to the study of adaptation and evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Brazilian version of the Personal Growth Initiative Scale - II (Personal Growth Initiative Scale - II, PGI-II). It was observed that the Brazilian version of PGI-II was established as a reliable instrument to investigate the levels of readiness for change, planfulness, intentional behavior and using resources, with a four first-order factor structure. The second empirical research evaluated if presence of meaning in life mediated the relationships of the dimensions of personal growth initiative with subjective well-being. It was observed that the presence of meaning in life measured the impact of dimensional planning and intentional behavior on levels of satisfaction with life, positive and negative affect. The dimensions readiness for change and using resources were not related to levels of presence of meaning in life. The dimensions readiness for change and using resources were negatively associated with levels of subjective well-being. The third empirical research has evaluated if presence of meaning in life mediated the relationships of optimism, pessimism and self-esteem with levels of stress, life satisfaction, positive and negative affect. The results showed that the relationship between optimism and self-esteem with levels of stress, positive affect and negative were partially mediated by levels of presence of meaning in life. However, the relations of pessimism with stress, life satisfaction, positive affect and negative were not mediated by levels of presence of meaning in life. Future studies should evaluate if the relations of personal resources with subjective well-being and stress are replicable to other samples. The main contribution of this thesis was to provide a scale to investigate the initiative to personal growth in the Brazilian context. In addition, the results of this study advance the understanding of the relationship between personal resources and well-being.