Concurrent Validity of a Crime-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Scale for Women within the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised

Abstract

Using a structured interview to obtain a lifetime history of criminal victimization, a community sample of 266 adult women who had experienced at least one incident of victimization was identified. These women were administered the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, the Impact of Event Scale, and a structured clinical interview was used to identify Crime-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CR-PTSD). A recently derived scale based on responses to items on the SCL-90-R was compared to the IES for predicting current diagnosis of Crime-Related Post-Traumatic Disorder. Both the scale and the IES were found to improve prediction of CR-PTSD above base rates and to perform in a similar manner. The utility of each of these scales as a screening measure is discussed.