title: The validity and clinical utility of post-traumatic stress disorder in Afghanistan.
abstract: This study examined the validity and utility of PTSD among 320 adults in Afghanistan. Findings support the validity of PTSD in this cultural context: PTSD symptoms were highly prevalent, shared common variance, and correlated as expected with exposure to traumatic stress. However, only limited support was found for the clinical utility of PTSD. Other types of psychiatric symptomatology, including depression and a culturally specific measure of general distress, correlated more highly with traumatic stress than did PTSD; and PTSD accounted for limited variance in functioning beyond that explained by depression and general distress. Implications for research and intervention are considered.
authors.affiliation: François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA. kmiller@hsph.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Kenneth E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Omidian
authors.forename: Madhur
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kulkarni
authors.forename: Aziz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yaqubi
authors.forename: Haqmal
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Daudzai
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D000346:Afghanistan; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000523:psychology; D014754:Violence / Q000523:psychology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000523:psychology