Validation of the Impact of Event Scale-Revised for adolescents experiencing the floods and mudslides.
The purpose of this study was to validate the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) for adolescents who had experienced the floods and mudslides caused by Typhoon Morakot in Taiwan. The internal consistency, construct validity, and criteria validity of the instrument were examined. Principal component analysis followed by an oblique rotation was used to derive a three-factor solution. These factors were labeled intrusion, hyperarousal, and avoidance; all three factors together accounted for 58.1% of the variance. The total Cronbach's alpha of 0.94 reflected the good internal consistency of the instrument. With reference to diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder, the IES-R cutoff point for posttraumatic stress disorder was 19 of 20 with a sensitivity of 85.7% and specificity of 84.1%. In conclusion, the IES-R can be used as a reliable and valid instrument when evaluating psychological distress among adolescents who have experienced a natural disaster, such as flooding and mudslides.
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Cheng-Sheng
CS
Chen
Chung-Ping
CP
Cheng
Cheng-Fang
CF
Yen
Tze-Chun
TC
Tang
Pinchen
P
Yang
Rei-Cheng
RC
Yang
Ming-Shyan
MS
Huang
Yuh-Jyh
YJ
Jong
Hsin-Su
HS
Yu
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D055868:Floods; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D055876:Landslides; D008297:Male; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011594:Psychometrics; D012372:ROC Curve; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013624:Taiwan