This article describes the development and validation of the Race-Related Stressor Scale (RRSS), a questionnaire that assesses exposure to race-related stressors in the military and war zone. Validated on a sample of 300 Asian American Vietnam veterans, the RRSS has high internal consistency and adequate temporal stability. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that exposure to race-related stressors accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and general psychiatric symptoms, over and above (by 20% and 19%, respectively) that accounted for by combat exposure and military rank. The RRSS appears to be a psychometrically sound measure of exposure to race-related stressors for this population. Race-related stressors as measured by the RRSS appear to contribute uniquely and substantially to PTSD symptoms and generalized psychiatric distress.

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An exploratory model of variables affecting level of sexual assault trauma at given times and change in trauma levels over time is developed and tested using a sample of female rape victims admitted to a treatment center over a two-year period. Based on a one-way analysis of variance and multiple classification analysis, the findings indicate that a previous rape best explains trauma change, while victim's demographics, social supports, and other prior life stress variables are important at specific time periods during the rape trauma syndrome. Implications of these results are discussed in terms of treatment-related issues.

To test the utility of a new self-report measure of trauma in the immediate aftermath of sexual assault, 253 women were interviewed with the 32-item Sexual Assault Symptom Scale (SASS) in a hospital emergency room within 72 hr of assault. Factor analysis with oblique rotation yielded a simple structure with 4 common factors: Disclosure Shame, Safety Fears, Depression, and Self-Blame. Cronbach alpha coefficients indicated high internal consistency for each factor subscale. Intercorrelalions between factor scores of the victims' self-report symptoms and assessments by crisis workers suggest that the SASS has construct validity, as a multitrait-multimcthod matrix demonstrated both convergent and discriminant validity.Extensive research has been conducted on the sexual assault trauma syndrome (SATS) and variables affecting recovery (for recent reviews of this literature, see Burgess & Holmstrom, 1985;Ruch & Leon, 1986;Sales, Baum, & Shore, 1984). Early studies measured trauma fairly crudely in terms of the presence or absence of symptoms (e.g., Holmstrom & Burgess, 1975; McCombie, 1976), but measurement has become increasingly rigorous in recent years as researchers (e.g., Becker, Skinner, & Abel, 1983;Kilpatrick, Veronen, & Best, 1985) have used standardized psychological assessment instruments, such as the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, 1978) and the revised Symptoms Checklist-90 (SCL-90-R;Derogatis, 1977).A few studies have used scales developed for sexual assault victims. Kilpatrick, Veronen, and Resick (1979) developed the 120-item Veronen-Kilpatrick Modified Fear Survey (MFS) to measure self-reported fear. Content analysis of data on 46 victims and 35 nonvictims yielded three types of fears; Rape Cues, Rape-Precipitated Fears, and Attack Vulnerability Cues. Victims scored higher than nonvictims on all three dimensions in the first month but only on Vulnerability Cues at later assessments. Resick, Veronen, Calhoun, Kilpatrick, and Atkeson