Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Construct Development
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Construct Development
February 18, 2013
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Construct Development Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is experienced by peoples of all cultures, nationalities, races, genders, and ages. A young child or an elderly person can suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. An individual suspected in having PTSD would need to meet certain criteria in order to be officially diagnosed with PTSD. An evaluator would need to use a combination of observation, ‘checklist’ type tests, and a psychological evaluation including extensive background information based on the event that is supposed to have caused the PTSD. The testing criteria would need to include a construct that could weed out other possible causes for the distress that could dismiss PTSD as the cause of distress like current abuse trauma. PTSD is, more or less, defined as an unrealistic continual fear or a ‘re-living’ of a traumatic event witnessed of experienced. In order for PTSD to be defined in an individual’s life and for other possible disorders to be distinguishable the trauma has to have happened in the past and not be a current occurrence. In other words, if an individual is living in a current abusive situation and suffering from symptoms like that of PTSD the individual would not necessarily be able to be diagnosed with PTSD until the individual was removed from the abuse. If after this time the individual remains fearful, helpless, or in some other way shows the criteria for PTSD then the evaluator can consider the individual for evaluation for a possible diagnosis. Operational Definition Using a sample of 153 veterans, Elizabeth Betemps and Dewleen G. Baker used Rasch measurement theory to “examine the Mississipii Scale-Revised for its utility in the development of interval measure of…(PTSD),” (Betemps & Baker, 2004). The Rasch scale is a probability based theory that includes measuring both the individual responding and the
February 18, 2013
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Construct Development Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is experienced by peoples of all cultures, nationalities, races, genders, and ages. A young child or an elderly person can suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. An individual suspected in having PTSD would need to meet certain criteria in order to be officially diagnosed with PTSD. An evaluator would need to use a combination of observation, ‘checklist’ type tests, and a psychological evaluation including extensive background information based on the event that is supposed to have caused the PTSD. The testing criteria would need to include a construct that could weed out other possible causes for the distress that could dismiss PTSD as the cause of distress like current abuse trauma. PTSD is, more or less, defined as an unrealistic continual fear or a ‘re-living’ of a traumatic event witnessed of experienced. In order for PTSD to be defined in an individual’s life and for other possible disorders to be distinguishable the trauma has to have happened in the past and not be a current occurrence. In other words, if an individual is living in a current abusive situation and suffering from symptoms like that of PTSD the individual would not necessarily be able to be diagnosed with PTSD until the individual was removed from the abuse. If after this time the individual remains fearful, helpless, or in some other way shows the criteria for PTSD then the evaluator can consider the individual for evaluation for a possible diagnosis. Operational Definition Using a sample of 153 veterans, Elizabeth Betemps and Dewleen G. Baker used Rasch measurement theory to “examine the Mississipii Scale-Revised for its utility in the development of interval measure of…(PTSD),” (Betemps & Baker, 2004). The Rasch scale is a probability based theory that includes measuring both the individual responding and the
References: Betemps, E., & Baker, D. G. (2004, June). Evaluation of the Mississippi PTSD scale using Rasch measurement. Mental Health Services Research, 6(2), 117 - 125. ProQuest Bovin, M Lasiuk, G.C., & Hegadoren, K. M. (2006, May). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Part II: Development Construct within the North American Psychiatric Taxonomy. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 42(2), 72 - 81. ProQuest. Mayo Clinic. (2011). Post-Traumaitc stress disorder (PTSD). Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/DS00246/DSECTION=tests-and-diagnosis Appendix