Examining the functional utility of personal growth initiative in a war-affected Sri Lankan Tamil sample.

The present study explored personal growth initiative (PGI; Robitschek, 1998)—the extent a person is motivated to and actively sets goals toward achieving self-improvement—and its relationship to functional impairment and life satisfaction among a war-affected Sri Lankan Tamil sample. Two hundred war-affected Tamil individuals in Sri Lanka completed measures of PGI, wartime experiences, functional impairment, and life satisfaction. Two hierarchical regressions were conducted examining current life satisfaction and degree of functional impairment. After controlling for depression and wartime experiences, PGI was positively associated with life satisfaction. However, no association was observed between PGI and reduced functional impairment. In contrast to other contexts of ethnopolitical violence, PGI was associated with subjective well-being, but not improved functioning. These results have implications for potential utility of PGI across different contexts of ethnopolitical warfare.