Beyond symptom self-report: use of a computer "avatar" to assess post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can occur in the wake of exposure to a traumatic event. Currently, PTSD symptoms are assessed mainly through self-report in the form of questionnaire or clinical interview. Self-report has inherent limitations, particularly in psychiatric populations who may have limited awareness of deficit, reduced attention span, or poor vocabulary and/or literacy skills. Diagnosis and evaluation of treatment efficacy would be aided by behavioral measures. A viable alternative may be virtual environments, in which the participant guides an on-screen "avatar" through a series of onscreen events meant to simulate real-world situations. Here, a sample of 82 veterans, self-assessed for PTSD symptoms was administered such a task, in which the avatar was confronted with situations that might evoke avoidant behavior, a core feature of PTSD. Results showed a strong correlation between PTSD symptom burden and task performance; in fact, the ability to predict PTSD symptom burden based on simple demographic variables (age, sex, combat exposure) was significantly improved by adding task score as a predictor variable. The results therefore suggest that virtual environments may provide a new way to assess PTSD symptoms, while avoiding at least some of the limitations associated with symptom self-report, and thus might be a useful complement to questionnaire or clinical interview, potentially facilitating both diagnosis and evaluation of treatment efficacy.
a Neurobehavioral Research Laboratory, Department of Veterans Affairs , VA New Jersey Health Care System , East Orange , NJ , USA.|b Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Neuroscience , New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University , Newark , NJ , USA.
Catherine E
CE
Myers
a Neurobehavioral Research Laboratory, Department of Veterans Affairs , VA New Jersey Health Care System , East Orange , NJ , USA.
Milen L
ML
Radell
a Neurobehavioral Research Laboratory, Department of Veterans Affairs , VA New Jersey Health Care System , East Orange , NJ , USA.
Christine
C
Shind
a Neurobehavioral Research Laboratory, Department of Veterans Affairs , VA New Jersey Health Care System , East Orange , NJ , USA.
Yasheca
Y
Ebanks-Williams
a Neurobehavioral Research Laboratory, Department of Veterans Affairs , VA New Jersey Health Care System , East Orange , NJ , USA.|b Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Neuroscience , New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University , Newark , NJ , USA.
Kevin D
KD
Beck
c Department of Veterans Affairs , Manchester , NH , USA.
Mark W
MW
Gilbertson
D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057566:Self Report; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology; D000076142:Virtual Reality
Post-traumatic stress disorder; anxiety; assessment tools; avoidance; behavioral inhibition; diagnosis; virtual reality