Developing and validation of post-traumatic growth protocol for Iranian veterans

Background and Aim: Post-traumatic growth is a relatively new concept in psychology, and refers to the positive interpersonal changes that occur after a person is exposed to traumatic events. The purpose of this study is to develop and validate the post-traumatic growth protocol for war veterans. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2018. The statistical population included Iranian veterans of eight years of holy defense who referred to Tehran medical centers. 406 veterans from this community were selected by convenience sampling. Data was collected by the Tedeschi and Calhoun Post-Impact Growth Index (PTGI) and the demographic information questionnaire, then analyzed by SPSS-21 software. The protocol developed by the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation (AGREE) was reviewed by expert panels. Also, the content validity index (CVI) and Content Validity Relative (CVR) were calculated in this protocol. Results: Protocol validation show 97.77% vision and goal, 91.66% stakeholder participation, 98.09% accuracy and methodology of formulation, 97.5% explanation and presentation, 96.66% usability, 100% editing independence. In the final evaluation section, 90% of experts recommended the use of this protocol. Also, the CVI was 94% and the CVR was 86%. Conclusion: The results showed that the post-traumatic growth protocol designed for war veterans for 8 sessions and each session for 120 minutes has the appropriate validity and reliability and can be used by psychologists and experts to help the well-being of veterans.