title: Psychometric properties of the Trauma Relevant Assumptions Scale.
abstract: This article describes the psychometric properties of a novel questionnaire, i.e. the Trauma Relevant Assumptions Scale (TRAS). The added value of the TRAS over previous trauma relevant belief questionnaires is that the TRAS enables measuring valence and rigidity of beliefs simultaneously. Both aspects are thought to be predictive of the development of chronic PTSD symptoms. For the exploratory factor analysis, the TRAS was administered to 309 adult volunteers. Principal components analysis yielded two factors: Assumptions about Self and Assumptions about the World. The two-factor structure was confirmed in a sample of 185 traumatized individuals. The TRAS seems to be a valid and reliable instrument, which is strongly related to post-trauma symptoms and has good discriminative validity. Apart from research settings, the TRAS may also be suitable in therapeutic settings to identify the severity of dysfunctional assumptions, and to assess the progress in change from negative assumptions to more positive assumptions.
authors.affiliation: Maastricht University, Department of Medical, Clinical and Experimental Psychology, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands. N.Buck@erasmusmc.NL
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Buck
authors.forename: Merel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kindt
authors.forename: Arnoud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arntz
authors.forename: Marcel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van den Hout
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schouten
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012649:Self Concept; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires