Diagnostic alterations for post-traumatic stress disorder: examining data from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication and National Survey of Adolescents Article (Web of Science)

abstract

  • BackgroundTwo alternative models of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) appear to represent the disorder's latent structure better than the traditional Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) three-factor PTSD model. The present study examines the impact of using these structural models for the diagnosis of lifetime PTSD while retaining the DSM-IV PTSD's six-symptom diagnostic requirement.MethodData were gathered from large-scale, epidemiological datasets collected with adults (National Comorbidity Survey Replication) and adolescents (National Survey of Adolescents). Two alternative, empirically supported four-factor models of PTSD were compared with the DSM-IV three-factor PTSD diagnostic model.ResultsResults indicated that the diagnostic alterations resulted in substantially improved structural validity, downward adjustments of PTSD's lifetime prevalence (roughly 1 percentage point decreases in adults, 1–2.5 percentage point decreases in adolescents), and equivalent psychiatric co-morbidity and sociodemographic associations.ConclusionsImplications for modifying PTSD diagnostic criteria in future editions of DSM are discussed.

authors

  • Elhai, Jon D
  • Ford, Julian D.
  • Ruggiero, Kenneth J.
  • Christopher Frueh, B.

publication date

  • 2009

published in

number of pages

  • 9

start page

  • 1957

end page

  • 1966

volume

  • 39

issue

  • 12