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Validating the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale With Persons Who Have Severe Mental Illnesses

Boston College, oharet{at}bc.edu

Ce Shen

Boston College

Margaret Sherrer

Lyndon State College, Sutton, Massachusetts

Objective: Interview data collected from 275 clients with severe mental illnesses are used to test the construct and criterion validity of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale (PSS). Method: First, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses are used to test whether the scale reflects the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed., text rev. (DSM-IV-TR). Second, structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to test concurrent validity. Results: A 2-factor PSS reveals an excellent fit to the data, and SEM shows good concurrent validity with key study variables. Conclusion: The PSS reveals a 2-factor structure (Re-experiencing and Avoidance) in this particular sample, and stress from high-risk behaviors and drinking to cope with negative emotions mediate the relationship between subjective distress from trauma and PTSD symptoms.

Key Words: PTSD • PSS • trauma • stressful events • high-risk behaviors • substance abuse • community support clients • severe mental illness

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This version was published on November 1, 2007

Research on Social Work Practice, Vol. 17, No. 6, 720-728 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1049731507301655


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This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by O'Hare, T. Articles by Sherrer, M. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?