Assessing posttraumatic stress disorder with or without reference to a single, worst traumatic event: examining differences in factor structure.
The authors examined the effects of a methodological manipulation on the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist's factor structure: specifically, whether respondents were instructed to reference a single worst traumatic event when rating PTSD symptoms. Nonclinical, trauma-exposed participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 PTSD assessment conditions: referencing PTSD symptoms to their worst trauma (trauma-specific group, n = 218) or to their overall trauma history in general (trauma-general group, n = 234). A 3rd group of non-trauma-exposed participants (n = 464) rated PTSD symptoms globally from any stressful event. Using confirmatory factor analysis, the authors show that the 4-factor PTSD model proposed by D. W. King, G. A. Leskin, L. A. King, and F. W. Weathers (1998; separating effortful avoidance and emotional numbing) demonstrated the best model fit for trauma-general and non-trauma-exposed participants. The 4-factor PTSD model proposed by L. J. Simms, D. Watson, and B. N. Doebbeling (2002; emphasizing a general dysphoria factor) demonstrated the best model fit for trauma-specific participants. Measurement invariance testing revealed that non-trauma-exposed participants were different from both trauma-exposed groups on factor structure parameters, but trauma groups were not substantially different from each other.
Elhai
Jon D
JD
Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606-3390, USA. jonelhai@gmail.com
Engdahl
Ryan M
RM
Palmieri
Patrick A
PA
Naifeh
James A
JA
Schweinle
Amy
A
Jacobs
Gerard A
GA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001143:Arousal; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult