Clinical utility of a brief diagnostic test for posttraumatic stress disorder

Psychosom Med. 1998 Jan-Feb;60(1):42-7. doi: 10.1097/00006842-199801000-00010.

Abstract

Objective: This study examines the psychometric properties and clinical utility of a brief diagnostic instrument known as the Self-Rating Scale for PTSD (SRS-PTSD).

Method: The scale was applied to a sample of 136 survivors of a plane crash. We designed SRS-PTSD as an abridged version of the Structured Interview for PTSD (SI-PTSD), which measures the presence and severity of PTSD symptoms from both a current and a lifetime perspective.

Results: The results indicate that SRS-PTSD and SI-PTSD both show satisfactory internal consistency and interjudge reliability. Furthermore, SRS-PTSD was shown to have sufficient sensitivity and specificity and an adequate likelihood ratio.

Conclusions: SRS-PTSD constitutes a good alternative for SI-PTSD, especially for sites with limited clinical resources.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Accidents, Aviation / psychology*
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Netherlands
  • Observer Variation
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / statistics & numerical data*
  • Psychometrics
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / diagnosis*
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / psychology
  • Survival / psychology*