title: Profiling posttraumatic functional impairment.
abstract: Many individuals who have been exposed to psychological trauma suffer from impaired functioning, regardless of whether they have PTSD. Our purpose was to identify a subset of PTSD symptoms linked to functional impairment to a) improve the likelihood that individuals with posttraumatic impairment receive treatment, and b) offer a method to assess cost-burden of trauma history in epidemiological studies. We examined patterns of trauma-related symptoms in two independent community surveys (N=1002 and 630). Rank ordering of symptoms and their associations with impairment guided construction of an impairment-related profile in the first data set. The profile was then tested in the second data set. The derived symptom profile, consisting of intense recollections and/or emotional symptoms upon exposure to reminders, plus one or more of numbing/detachment, avoidance, sleep problems, concentration problems, or hypervigilance, detected the majority (88% and 74%) of persons with posttraumatic functional impairment. The symptom profile can help identify traumatized individuals who may benefit from treatment but do not necessarily meet criteria for PTSD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, and the VA San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, California 92093-0985, USA.
authors.forename: Sonya B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Norman
authors.forename: Murray B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.forename: Jonathan R T
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Davidson
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D003625:Data Collection; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D016015:Logistic Models; D008568:Memory; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012008:Recurrence; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D012917:Social Adjustment; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology