The validation of a self-report measure of posttraumatic stress disorder: The Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale.

Background: Network analysis is an emerging methodology for investigating psychopathological symptoms. Given the unprecedented number of refugees and the increased prevalence of mental disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in this population, new methodologies that help us better to understand psychopathology in refugees are crucial. Objective: The objective of this study was to explore the network structure and centrality indices of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms in a cross-sectional clinical sample of 151 severely traumatized refugees with and without a formal PTSD diagnosis. Method: The R-packages qgraph and bootnet were used to estimate the structure of a PTSD symptom network and its centrality indices. In addition, robustness and significance analyses for the edges weights and the order of centrality were performed. Results: Three pairs of symptoms showed significantly stronger connections than at least half of the other connections: hypervigilance and exaggerated startle response, intrusion and difficulties falling asleep, and irritability or outbursts of anger and self-destructive or reckless behaviour. Emotional cue reactivity had the highest centrality and trauma-related amnesia the lowest. Conclusion: Although only 51.0% of participants fulfilled criteria for a probable PTSD diagnosis, emotional cue reactivity showed the highest centrality, emphasizing the importance of emotional trauma reminders in severely traumatized refugees attending an outpatient clinic. However, due to the small sample size, the results should be interpreted with care.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in a clinical sample of refugees: a network analysis

Spiller

Schick

Schnyder

et al. 2017

“…The Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS; Foa, Cashman, Jaycox, & Perry, 1997; Polish adaptation: Dragan et al, 2012) is a self-report scale that was designed to measure the presence and severity of PTSD symptoms in addition to detecting persons with diagnosable PTSD. The PDS refers to the main diagnostic categories of the DSM-IV, i.e.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The original list of traumatic events was replaced with a list of 24 WWII-related potentially traumatic events. The original version of the scale is characterized by high internal consistency ( r = .92), good test-retest reliability ( r = .74) for the diagnosis of PTSD and r = .83 for the intensity of symptoms (Foa et al, 1997). In the current study, the Cronbach’s α for the intensity of PTSD symptoms total score was .91.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Posttraumatic stress symptoms among Polish World War II survivors: the role of social acknowledgement

Lis-Turlejska

Szumiał²,

Drapała³

2018

Background: There is growing evidence of the important role played by socio-interpersonal variables on the maintenance of PTSD. Many World War II survivors in Poland could, as a result of political circumstances during the aftermath of the war, have experienced a lack of social recognition of their war-related trauma. Objective: The main aim of the study was to examine the association between perceived social reactions and the level of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSD) and depression. Method: Participants (N = 120) were aged 71–97 years (M = 82.44; SD = 6.14). They completed a WWII trauma-related questionnaire, the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS), the Impact of Events Scale (IES) and Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI). The Social Acknowledgement Questionnaire (SAQ) was used to measure participants’ perception of others’ acknowledgement and disapproval of their war trauma. Results: The rate of probable PTSD, diagnosed according to DSM-IV, was 38.3%. PTSD symptoms and General Disapproval were significantly correlated for all three PTSD symptom groups (Pearson’s r ranged from .25 to .41). The structural equation modelling results also demonstrated the importance of General Disapproval with regard to the level of PTSD symptoms. It explained both the intensity of PTSD symptoms (13.4% of variance) and the level of depression (12.0% of variance). Conclusion: In addition to confirming the high rate of PTSD among WWII survivors in Poland, the results indicate the importance of social reactions to survivors’ traumatic experiences.

“…To infer the presence of each PTSD diagnostic criterion we used, for CAPS interviews, the recommended threshold of frequency ≥ 1 and intensity ≥ 2 (Weathers et al, 1999), and for PSS and PDS an item score ≥ 2 (Foa, 1995; Foa, Cashman, Jaycox, & Perry, 1997; Foa et al, 1993; Foa & Tolin, 2000). We also accepted direct reporting, as some studies’ symptom criteria were recorded as ‘present’ versus ‘absent’.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of data pooling to longitudinal studies of early post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): the International Consortium to Predict PTSD (ICPP) project

Ratanatharathorn

Gevonden

et al. 2018

Background: Understanding the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a precondition for efficient risk assessment and prevention planning. Studies to date have been site and sample specific. Towards developing generalizable models of PTSD development and prediction, the International Consortium to Predict PTSD (ICPP) compiled data from 13 longitudinal, acute-care based PTSD studies performed in six different countries.Objective: The objectives of this study were to describe the ICPP’s approach to data pooling and harmonization, and present cross-study descriptive results informing the longitudinal course of PTSD after acute trauma.Methods: Item-level data from 13 longitudinal studies of adult civilian trauma survivors were collected. Constructs (e.g. PTSD, depression), measures (questions or scales), and time variables (days from trauma) were identified and harmonized, and those with inconsistent coding (e.g. education, lifetime trauma exposure) were recoded. Administered in 11 studies, the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) emerged as the main measure of PTSD diagnosis and severity.Results: The pooled data set included 6254 subjects (39.9% female). Studies’ average retention rate was 87.0% (range 49.1–93.5%). Participants’ baseline assessments took place within 2 months of trauma exposure. Follow-up durations ranged from 188 to 1110 days. Reflecting studies’ inclusion criteria, the prevalence of baseline PTSD differed significantly between studies (range 3.1–61.6%), and similar differences were observed in subsequent assessments (4.3–38.2% and 3.8–27.0% for second and third assessments, respectively).Conclusion: Pooling data from independently collected studies requires careful curation of individual data sets for extracting and optimizing informative commonalities. However, it is an important step towards developing robust and generalizable prediction models for PTSD and can exceed findings of single studies. The large differences in prevalence of PTSD longitudinally cautions against using any individual study to infer trauma outcome. The multiplicity of instruments used in individual studies emphasizes the need for common data elements in future studies.