VIVO Questionnaire: A Measure of Human Worldviews and Identity in Trauma, Crisis, and Loss-Validation and Preliminary Findings

Abstract

Various proposals have been made in order to measure worldviews and identity in extreme trauma or loss experiences. The use of these scales has provided mixed results. The Vital Impact Assess- ment Scale (VIVO) was designed to fill some of the gaps of the exist- ing tools: (a) to be administered to the general population, as well as to survivors of extreme experiences; (b) to include an extensive range of human responses to extreme situations; (c) to be adminis- tered to large population samples from different cultural backgrounds; (d) to avoid anchoring to a specific personal experi- ence; and (e) to work with extensive and complex response profiles. Validation data and preliminary results are presented for the Spanish version, and an English formulation is proposed. The final version of the VIVO Questionnaire, composed of 116 items, offers an organized profile divided into 10 conceptual blocks (world- views, attitude towards the world, view of human beings, coping, impact of past situations, emotions, telling the experience, conse- quences, social support, and identity) and 35 subscales.