Validation of the Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire and Peritraumatic Distress Inventory in school-aged victims of road traffic accidents.
BACKGROUND
Although the reliable and valid Peritraumatic Distress Inventory (PDI-C) and Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire (PDEQ) are useful for identifying adults at risk of developing acute and chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), they have not been validated in school-aged children and their predictive values remain unknown in this population. This study aims to assess the psychometric properties of the children versions of these two measures (PDI-C and PDEQ-C) in a sample of French-speaking school-children.


METHODS
One-hundred and thirty-three consecutive victims of road traffic accidents, aged 8-15 years, were recruited into this longitudinal study via the emergency room. The peritraumatic reactions were assessed at baseline and PTSD symptoms were assessed 1 month later.


RESULTS
Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.8 and 0.77 for the PDI-C and PDEQ-C, respectively. The 1-month test-retest correlation coefficient (n=33) was 0.77 for both measures. The PDI-C demonstrated a two-factor structure while the PDEQ-C displayed a one-factor structure. As with adults, the two measures were intercorrelated (r=0.52) and correlated with subsequent PTSD symptoms and diagnosis (r=0.21-0.56; P<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The children versions of the PDI and PDEQ are reliable and valid in children.
Laboratoire du stress traumatique (LST-JE 2511), CHU de Toulouse, hôpital Casselardit, université de Toulouse, UPS, Toulouse cedex 9, France. bui.e@chu-toulouse.fr
E
E
Bui
A
A
Brunet
B
B
Olliac
E
E
Very
C
C
Allenou
J-P
JP
Raynaud
I
I
Claudet
S
S
Bourdet-Loubère
H
H
Grandjean
L
L
Schmitt
P
P
Birmes
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology*