Assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder in Cambodian refugees using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale: Psychometric properties and symptom severity

• Published in: Journal of traumatic stress Vol. 19; no. 3; pp. 405 - 409
• Main Authors: Hinton, Devon E., Chhean, Dara, Pich, Vuth, Pollack, M. H., Orr, Scott P., Pitman, Roger K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germantown Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01-06-2006; Wiley; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Anxiety disorders. Neuroses; Biological and medical sciences; Cambodia - ethnology; Female; Humans; Incidence; Interview, Psychological; Male; Massachusetts - epidemiology; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Observer Variation; Post-traumatic stress disorder; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometrics; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Refugees - psychology; Reproducibility of Results; Severity of Illness Index; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - ethnology; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology; Translating; Cambodia; Massachusetts; Human; Evaluation; Posttraumatic syndrome; Anxiety disorder; Psychometrics; Refugee; Severity score; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Stress
• ISSN: 0894-9867; 1573-6598
• DOI: 10.1002/jts.20115

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms were assessed by using the Clinician‐Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) in a consecutive sample of Cambodian refugees attending a psychiatric clinic in the United States. Psychometric properties of the translated CAPS and severity of PTSD‐related symptoms were examined. The CAPS demonstrated adequate psychometric properties, including coefficient alpha (.92) and item–total correlations (.48–.85). Of the sample 56% (101/179) met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, criteria for current PTSD. Those patients who met criteria for current PTSD had significantly higher CAPS total scores (M = 65.3, SD = 18.1) than those who did not meet the criteria (M = 13.9, SD = 16.7).