title: Assessing the underlying dimensionality of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms in Chinese adolescents surviving the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake.
abstract: By analyzing data yielded from a sample of Chinese adolescents surviving a high-intensity earthquake, this study investigated the underlying dimensionality of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms. The sample included 743 traumatized middle school students (396 females and 332 males) aged 11-17 years (mean=13.6, SD=1.0). Results of confirmatory factor analysis showed that an intercorrelated seven-factor model comprised of intrusion, avoidance, negative affect, anhedonia, externalizing behaviors, anxious arousal, and dysphoric arousal factors provided a significant better representation of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms than other alternative models. Further analyses indicated that external measures of major depression disorder and panic disorder symptoms displayed unique associations with four PTSD factors. The findings provide further support for the newly proposed seven-factor model of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms, add to very limited empirical knowledge on the latent structure of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms among adolescents, and carry implications for further refinement of the current classifications of PTSD symptoms and further clinical practice and research on posttraumatic stress symptomatology.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Electronic address: wangli1@psych.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.
authors.forename: Lingmin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Psychology Research Institute, University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK.
authors.forename: Cherie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Armour
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Chengqi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yulan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qing
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jianxin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; People's Hospital of Deyang City, Deyang, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: People's Hospital of Deyang City, Deyang, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Biao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: People's Hospital of Deyang City, Deyang, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Hanwang People's Hospital, Deyang, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Zhihong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Hanwang People's Hospital, Deyang, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Gaolin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D001143:Arousal; D002648:Child; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D055866:Earthquakes; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016584:Panic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D017741:Survivors / Q000523:psychology
keywords: China; Confirmatory factor analysis; DSM-5; Earthquake; Posttraumatic stress disorder