Assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder in Cambodian refugees using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale: Psychometric properties and symptom severity

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were assessed by using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) in a consecutive sample of Cambodian refugees attending a psychiatric clinic in the United States. Psychometric properties of the translated CAPS and severity of PTSD-related symptoms were examined. The CAPS demonstrated adequate psychometric properties, including coefficient alpha (.92) and item-total correlations (.48-.85). Of the sample 56% (101/179) met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, criteria for current PTSD. Those patients who met criteria for current PTSD had significantly higher CAPS total scores (M = 65.3, SD = 18.1) than those who did not meet the criteria (M = 13.9, SD = 16.7).

The Panic Attack–Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Model: Applicability to Orthostatic Panic Among Cambodian Refugees

“…As assessed with 20 patients, the F1/I2 rule coincides well with a Cambodian-speaking psychiatrist's determination (κ = .89), as guided by the SCID module for PTSD [Hinton et al, 2006a].…”

“…With 20 Cambodian patients, the CAPS has good interrater (r = .92) and test-retest (at 1 week; r = .84) reliability [Hinton et al, 2006a].…”

“…As would be expected from these extraordinary levels of trauma, Cambodian refugees have high rates of psychopathology. In one study, 56% of the Cambodian refugees attending an outpatient psychiatric clinic had current PTSD, with elevated PTSD scores [on the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale; Hinton et al, 2006a]. In another study of psychiatric outpatients, 60% had panic disorder, including unusual subtypes.…”

Challenges Faced by Refugee New Parents from Africa in Canada

“…Higher scores indicate greater degrees of loneliness. The Clinician-Administered Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Scale Life Events Checklist [43] is a 17 item measure that assesses the total number and severity of exposures to previous traumatic experiences, and has been translated and validated with Bosnian and Cambodian refugees as well as with ethnic minorities in urban communities [44][45][46]. Items which respondents endorsed as personal experience receive a score of one; all other responses receive a score of zero.…”

PTSD and Related Disorders

“…Whereas there may be culture-specific idioms of distress that provide a better characterisation of PTSDs found in one ethnocultural context or another [127], PTSD has been documented throughout the world [128][129][130]. Specifically, high prevalence rates have been reported in non-Western nations such as Algeria, Cambodia, Lebanon, Palestine, Nepal and the former Yugoslavia [131][132][133]. Furthermore, comparable PTSD prevalence has been found among Russian and American adolescents [134].…”