The Core Beliefs Inventory: a brief measure of disruption in the assumptive world

Abstract

Stressful events that disrupt the assumptive world can force people to make cognitive changes to accommodate these highly stressful experiences. As fundamental assumptions are reestablished, many people report changes and experiences that reflect posttraumatic growth (PTG). The present research describes the development of the Core Beliefs Inventory (CBI), a brief measure of disruption of the assumptive world developed for use in applied research and clinical settings. Three studies, two using college samples (Study 1, n=181 and Study 2, n=297 time 1; 85 time 2) and the third using leukemia patients (Study 3, n=70 time 1; 43 time 2), assessed the utility of the CBI to predict PTG in both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. Relationships between the CBI and measures of self-reported PTG and well-being indicate that the CBI has construct validity, acceptable test-retest reliability, and very good internal consistency. The CBI may be a useful tool in investigating predictions about the effects of stressful experiences on an individual's assumptive world, PTG, and successful adaptation.

Keywords:

• posttraumatic growth
• assumptive beliefs
• well-being

Notes

1. To further evaluate the internal consistency of the CBI, the data from all three studies (n=548) were used to conduct an exploratory factor analysis. For studies 2 and 3, only the data from the first administration of the CBI were used. Also, because the response metric used for the CBI was shortened in study 3, all scores were first standardized. The SCREE plot clearly indicated a single dominant factor was present. In fact, separate exploratory factor analyses on the data from each study consistently indicated a single dominant factor, accounting for between 42 and 53% of the variance. There was no evidence across these studies for a consistent alternative factor structure beyond the single factor model.