This study examined the factor structure, internal consistency, concurrent validity, and discriminative validity of the Impact of Event Scale -Revised (IES-R, Weiss & Marmar, 1997) in a sample of 182 individuals who had experienced a serious motor vehicle accident. Results supported the three-factor structure of the IES-R, Intrusion, Avoidance, and Hyperarousal, with adequate internal consistency noted for each subscale. Support was obtained for the concurrent and discriminative validity, as well as the absence of social desirability effects. Although some differences were noted between the IES-R Avoidance subscale and diagnostically-based measures of this cluster of symptoms, these differences do not necessarily signify measurement problems with the IES-R. The IES-R seems to be a solid measure of post-trauma phenomena that can augment related assessment approaches in clinical and research settings.

The Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS) was created to measure anxiety about being negatively evaluated by others because of one's overall appearance, including body shape. This study examined the psychometric properties of the SAAS in three large samples of undergraduate students (respective ns = 512, 853, and 541). The SAAS demonstrated a unifactorial structure with high test-retest reliability and internal consistency. The SAAS was positively associated with measures of social anxiety. The SAAS was also related to greater disparity between perceived, actual, and ideal physical attributes, beliefs that one's appearance is inherently flawed and socially unacceptable and that being unattractive is socially deleterious, feelings of unattractiveness, emphasis on appearance and its maintenance, and a preoccupation with being overweight. It was a unique predictor of social anxiety above and beyond negative body image indicators. Findings suggest that the SAAS is a psychometrically valid measure of social anxiety regarding one's overall appearance.

This study examined the factor structure, internal consistency, concurrent validity, discriminant validity, and discriminative validity of the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI; E. B. Foa, A. Ehlers, D. M. Clark, D. F. Tolin, & S. M. Orsillo, 1999) in a sample of 112 individuals who had experienced a serious motor vehicle accident. Results generally supported the 3-factor structure of the PTCI: (a) Negative Cognitions About Self, (b) Negative Cognitions About the World, and (c) Self-Blame. Subscales reflecting negative thoughts of the self and world showed adequate internal consistency, as well as good concurrent, discriminant, and discriminative validity. However, difficulties with the subscale representing self-blame emerged, specifically poor concurrent and discriminant validity. Potential reasons for this finding are discussed. The PTCI seems to be a promising measure of negative and dysfunctional posttrauma cognitions, which deserves continuing attention.Current accounts of posttrauma recovery place considerable emphasis on the role of negative and dysfunctional cognitions in the etiology and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). For example, Foa and colleagues (Foa & Riggs, 1993;Foa & Rothbaum, 1998) have theorized that specific thoughts about the dangerousness of the world and one's own incompetence mediate the development of PTSD in the aftermath of sexual assault in women. Likewise, Ehlers and Clark (2000) emphasized the importance of negative appraisals of the traumatic event and one's reactions during the event as salient in PTSD. According to these authors, these negative appraisals help to create a sense of threat, which perpetuates PTSD symptomatology and heightens anxiety. Similar accounts have been presented by Resick and Schnicke (1993) and McCann and Pearlman (1990), indicating some convergence across writers concerning the importance of specific types of dysfunctional thoughts in PTSD, particularly thoughts about one's perceived weaknesses and the dangerousness of the world.Despite apparent agreement about the importance of dysfunctional thoughts in the origins and maintenance of PTSD, measurement of this domain has lagged behind other forms of assessment. As reviewed by Norris and Riad (1997), the field has concentrated in large part

The current report used confirmatory factor analysis to examine the latent structures of both key features and associated symptoms of three disorders that commonly develop following a traumatic event: posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Participants were 228 motor-vehicle accident survivors who sought treatment for emotional difficulties. PTSD, MDD, and GAD were assessed with a combination of self-report and interview-based measures. The results of construct level analyses suggested that PTSD, MDD, and GAD are distinguishable but highly correlated disorders following a traumatic event. Symptom level analyses supported a model where the Reexperiencing, Avoidance, and Hypervigilance factors were subsumed under the PTSD construct. However, in this model the Dysphoria factor was a higher order construct correlated with the PTSD, MDD, and GAD factors, suggesting that the Dysphoria cluster may not be unique to PTSD. Diagnostic and theoretical implications of these results are discussed.

Data indicates that millions of motor vehicles accidents (MVA) occur each year and that MVAs are one of the leading causes of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite these findings, PTSD screening tools have not been identified for MVA populations. The current study examines two potential PTSD screening tools, the Impact of Event Scale (IES) and the PTSD Symptom Scale, SelfReport (PSS-SR), in a large sample of MVA survivors. For the IES using a cutoff score of 27, sensitivity was .91, specificity was .72 and overall correct classification was .80. For the PSS-SR using a cutoff score of 14, sensitivity was .91, specificity was .62 and overall correct classification was .74. These data support the use of the IES and the PSS-SR as PTSD screening tools in MVA samples. KeywordsPTSD; motor vehicle accident; screening; self-report measures; assessment Screening for PTSD in motor vehicle accident survivors: The use of the PSS-SR and IES-RAccording to the National Safety Council (1993), millions of motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) occur each year but only recently have the psychological consequences of MVAs been fully recognized. Norris (1992) has shed some light on the psychological sequela of MVAs by examining the frequency and impact of 10 potentially traumatic events in a large, multi-site epidemiological study. Among traumatized individuals in this study, MVAs were found to be a leading cause of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), preceded only by sexual and physical assaults. Moreover, Norris states that "when both the frequency and severity data were considered together, [MVAs] emerged as perhaps the single most significant event among those studied" (pp. 416). Extrapolating from the rates of trauma and PTSD, Norris estimates that MVAs alone could account for 28 cases of PTSD for every 1000 adults in the United States.Other investigators have also examined the rates of PTSD and PTSD symptomatology in MVA populations. These investigations have produced a wide range of prevalence estimates depending on the methodology employed. For example, among consecutive admissions of MVA survivors at an emergency department, Mayou and colleagues found that 11% met criteria for PTSD in the following year (Mayou, Bryant & Duthie, 1993). In a similar study,