2002/05/01 by Ayelet Meron Ruscio, John Ruscio, Terence M. Keane · 1 citation
Psychology · #Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research #Migration, Health and Trauma #Mental Health Treatment and Access #Psychology #Posttraumatic stress #Clinical psychology #Internal consistency #Consistency (knowledge bases) #Mental health #Stress (linguistics) #Psychiatry #Psychometrics
paper · doi:10.1037/0021-843x.111.2.290
openalex publication_date 2002/05/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/24
Mental health professionals have debated whether posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be qualitatively distinguished from normal reactions to traumatic events. This debate has been fueled by indications that many trauma-exposed individuals evidence partial presentations of PTSD that are associated with significant impairment and help-seeking behavior. The authors examined the latent structure of PTSD in a large sample of male combat veterans. Three taxometric procedures-MAMBAC, MAXEIG, and L-Mode-were performed with 3 indicator sets drawn from a clinical interview and a self-report measure of PTSD. Results across procedures, consistency tests, and analysis of simulated comparison data all converged on a dimensional solution, suggesting that PTSD reflects the upper end of a stress-response continuum rather than a discrete clinical syndrome.