Spontaneity as predictive factor for well-being. Instruments for psychodrama—the validation of Spontaneity Assessment Inventory—Revised (SAI-R) and its relationship with psychological suffering and depression in Italy and Austria

The study discusses the construct of spontaneity and its causal relationship with psychological well-being. It develops a preview phase of validation of the SAI-R and its correlation with the Clinical Outcomes for Routine Evaluation -Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) and assumes the hypothesis that a high level of spontaneity is correlated negatively with low level of well-being and positively with depression. The research involved Italian and Austrian participants, consisting of 166 Italian and 146 Austrian university students. The findings suggested a causal relationship between low spontaneity and psychological suffering. The results obtained confirm the hypothesized model, showing significant negative causal relationship. The verification of this theoretical model on non-clinical samples allows us to set the ground for future use in clinical samples. Furthermore, this result encourages the development of further research into the use of SAI-R.