title: Examining the uniqueness of frequency and intensity symptom ratings in posttraumatic stress disorder assessment.
abstract: Data from two studies are presented, investigating the relative effectiveness of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom frequency and intensity rating dimensions, in assessing overall PTSD severity and diagnosis. We assessed frequency and intensity ratings using 1) the Modified PTSD Symptom Scale with 298 trauma-exposed college students, and 2) the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale with 130 combat-exposed military veterans. Results demonstrated little empirical justification for separating frequency and intensity ratings when measuring PTSD. Large overlaps in variance were evidenced between the dimensions (suggesting construct redundancy), with little meaningful contribution to diagnosing PTSD using one dimension over the other. Implications for future PTSD clinical and research assessment are discussed, including the potential to decrease administration time for these commonly used PTSD measures, given their time-consuming nature.
authors.affiliation: Disaster Mental Health Institute, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota 57069-2390, USA. jonelhai@fastmail.fm
authors.forename: Jon D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Elhai
authors.forename: Brenda M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Lindsay
authors.forename: Matt J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: Anouk L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Grubaugh
authors.forename: Terry C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: North
authors.forename: B Christopher
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Frueh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019540:Area Under Curve; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012372:ROC Curve; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014728:Veterans / Q000706:statistics & numerical data