Validation of a Self-Report Measure of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in a Sample of College-Age Women

Abstract

The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Interview (PTSD-I; Watson, C. G., Juba, M., Manifold, V., Kucala, T., & Anderson, E. D., 1991) was adapted into a self-report questionnaire, the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire (PTSD-Q), which was validated against the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-IV) PTSD module (First, Spitzer, Gibbon, & Williams, 1995), using a sample of 76 college-age women who were not seeking help for psychological problems. The women completed the PTSD-Q and were later interviewed with the SCID-IVPTSD module. Use of a Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analysis indicated that a cut point of 60 on the PTSD-Q provided the optimal diagnostic efficiency relative to the SCID-IV diagnosis. Using a cut point of 60 on the PTSD-Q resulted in a sensitivity of .81 and a specificity of .82, relative to SCID-IV diagnoses. The PTSD-Q may be a useful screening measure to identify individuals who are not seeking help but who have PTSD.