title: The validity of screening for post-traumatic stress disorder and major depression among Vietnamese former political prisoners.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the validity of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) and the depression sub-scale of the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-25 (HSCL-25) in screening for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) among Vietnamese former political prisoners (POWs). The study population included Vietnamese POWs (n = 51) who migrated to the Boston metropolitan area between January 1990 and July 1992 under the Special Released Re-education Center Detainees Resettlement Program. The criterion validity of the HTQ in assessing PTSD and of the depression sub-scale of the HSCL-25 in assessing MDD is supported by the results. Consideration of an appropriate cut-off score should include examination of the utility of a given screening instrument for PTSD or MDD within different settings, such as refugee camps vs. countries of third asylum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Smith Fawzi
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Poole
authors.forename: R F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Mollica
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001213:Asian / Q000523:psychology*; D001900:Boston; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011057:Politics; D011329:Prisoners / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D014744:Vietnam / Q000208:ethnology