title: Daily versus monthly reporting of post-traumatic symptoms: A study of reliability across time and instruments.
abstract: This study compared daily-versus-monthly self-ratings of post-traumatic symptoms using two similar but not wholly identical measures. The rationale was to determine whether (1) posttraumatic dissociation and/or minimization or (2) certain biases (more recent symptoms, more severe symptoms, practice effect, Hawthorne effect) might undermine symptom recall. Seventeen voluntary participants provided daily self-ratings for an average of 11.6 months. Nine male veterans had combat trauma; one also experienced sexual trauma. Four women had experienced sexual assault, and four women had other trauma. The monthly measure consisted of the self-rated Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist (PCL), and daily ratings employed the self-rated PTSD Life Chart that we devised. These data revealed that people with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) produced monthly ratings that reflected their day-to-day symptom experience over the previous month, despite the dissociation and minimization that often accompanies PTSD. Initial practice effect occurred in the first month, but other biases (recent symptoms, severe symptoms, Hawthorne effect) were not demonstrated.
authors.affiliation: Minneapolis VA Medical Center, United States; University of Minnesota, United States. Electronic address: weste010@umn.edu.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Westermeyer
authors.affiliation: Minneapolis VA Medical Center, United States; University of Minnesota, United States.
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Shiroma
authors.affiliation: Minneapolis VA Medical Center, United States; University of Minnesota, United States.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Thuras
authors.affiliation: Phoenix VA Medical Center, United States.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kattar
authors.affiliation: Minneapolis VA Medical Center, United States; University of Minnesota, United States.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences, United States; Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, United States.
authors.forename: Ross D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Crosby
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D057566:Self Report / Q000592:standards*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Course; Life charting; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder; Practice effect; Reliability; Symptom recall