TPC-Journal-V2-Issue1

The Professional Counselor \Volume 2, Issue 1 69 per-item mean of 3.29 ( SD = .55) exceeds 3 or “moderate growth” on the 0 to 5 response scale (scale midpoint = 2.50). The per-item means for four of the five subscales are between 3.30 ( SD = .77) and 3.65 ( SD = .62), inclusive. The per- item mean for Spiritual Change is lower, 1.68 ( SD = 1.17). Table 1 Personal Growth Scores (N = 122): Descriptive Statistics (total and per-item basis) Note. S Subscales: 1 Relating to Others, 2 New Possibilities, 3 Personal Strength, 4 Spiritual Change, 5 Appreciation of Life, 6 total. Probability note: PPA inter-correlations, p < .00 (two-tailed) for all r. Total Per-item Subscale inter-correlations S M SD M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 23.10 5.40 3.30 .77 -- .46 .48 .44 .55 .88 2 17.84 3.18 3.57 .64 -- .35 .26 .37 .68 3 14.58 2.48 3.65 .62 -- .38 .39 .68 4 3.35 2.33 1.68 1.17 -- .46 .64 5 10.22 1.99 3.41 .66 -- .71 6 69.09 11.52 3.29 .55 -- Research Question 2 Table 2 contains descriptive statistics for participant percentage attributions of cause to academic and non-academic experiences, respectively (from column 2 of Appendix A). Both subtotals are large although the non-academic subtotal is larger by a ratio of approximately 3:2. The three academic experiences thought by each participant to have contributed most to his or her growth account for 30.76% (14.79 + 8.03 + 7.94%) of the mean subtotal of 39.63% ( SD = 11.94) of total personal growth. Illustrative examples include internships, terms abroad, and three-credit semester courses. Participants attribute the third largest contribution (7.94%) to a course designed to facilitate growth. Three non-academic experiences account for 50.31% (25.96 + 15.18 + 9.17%) of the mean subtotal 60.36% ( SD = 11.94). Examples include illnesses, extracurricular activities, deaths of family members, and positive and negative changes in significant relationships.