NCJ Number
130799
Date Published
Unknown
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This study tested the ability of items contained on a common psychological symptom assessment instrument, the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), to screen effectively for and assess crime-related post-traumatic stress disorder (CR-PTSD) among women.
Abstract
Subjects were 355 adult (18 years old or older) female residents of Charleston County, S.C. Respondents were recruited from a representative probability sample of 2,004 adult women living in Charleston County which had been selected for a different study using random-digit dialing. The subjects were administered the SCL-90-R and were assessed by means of structured interviews for a lifetime history of criminal victimization and CR-PTSD. Nearly 75 percent of the women had been victims of at least one violent crime in their lifetimes. Discriminant function analysis that used the CR-PTSD scale as a single independent variable was used to examine how accurately the scale score was able to classify subjects as either CR-PTSD positive or negative. Although replication and additional research are needed, study findings indicate that the 28-item factor of the SCL-90-R may be useful for initial screening for CR-PTSD even if a victimization history is unknown. This instrument may be cost-effective in rapidly identifying distressed crime victims who require further assessment. 2 tables and 7 references