Personality Change and Therapeutic Gain: Randomized Controlled Trial of a Positive Psychology Intervention

• Autores: Michal Gelfin, Ada H. Zohar, Lilac Lev Ari
• Localización: International journal of psychology and psychological therapy, ISSN 1577-7057, Vol. 18, Nº. 2, 2018, págs. 193-205
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This study examined the possibility that personality would change in the course of a positive psychology intervention, and would add to therapeutic gain. 89 participants were randomly assigned into the intervention group (N= 45) and the waiting-list group (N= 44). The intervention followed 6-week-online-protocol. Participants reported on the Steen Happiness Index (SHI), The Positive Psychotherapy Index (PPTI), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SLS) as well as on the temperament scales Harm Avoidance and Persistence, and the character trait Self-Directedness three times: at outset, post-intervention, and four weeks later at follow-up. Hypotheses were tested using growth curve analysis and regression analysis. The intervention group gained in all three happiness measures, in the personality traits Self-Directedness and Persistence and decreased in Harm Avoidance relative to the waiting-list group. Regression analyses revealed that the change in personality traits, and particularly in Self-Directedness mediated the therapeutic gains in the SHI as well as in the PPTI, but not in SLS. Although personality is basically very stable, successful interventions can bring about beneficial changes in personality which may in turn help to maintain therapeutic gains. The role of personality change in psychotherapy should be studied across therapeutic approaches, settings, and psychiatric diagnoses.