A short DSM-IV screening scale to detect posttraumatic stress disorder after a natural disaster in a Chinese population

Liu, Aizhong; Tan, Hongzhuan; Zhou, Jia; Li, Shuoqi; Yang, Tubao; Tang, Xuemin; Sun, Zhenqiu; Yang, Xin; Wu, Chengqiu; Shi Wu Wen,

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2007.08.015

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Volume 159, Issue 3 , Pages 376-381, 30 June 2008

A short DSM-IV screening scale to detect posttraumatic stress disorder after a natural disaster in a Chinese population

Aizhong Liu
- School of Public Health, Central South University, Xiangya Road 110, Changsha, Hunan 410078, PR China
- Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and of Epidemiology & Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada, K1H 8L6
- Corresponding author. Department of Epidemiology & Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Central South University, 110 Xiangya Rd, Changsha, Hunan, PR China, 410078. Tel.: +86 731 4805465; fax: +86 731 4805454.
- Current address: University of Ottawa, 501 Smyth Rd, Box 241, Ottawa, Canada, K1H 8L6. Tel.: +1 613 737 8899x74238; fax: +1 613 739 6266.
Hongzhuan Tan
- School of Public Health, Central South University, Xiangya Road 110, Changsha, Hunan 410078, PR China
Jia Zhou
- School of Public Health, Central South University, Xiangya Road 110, Changsha, Hunan 410078, PR China
Shuoqi Li
- School of Public Health, Central South University, Xiangya Road 110, Changsha, Hunan 410078, PR China
Tubao Yang
- School of Public Health, Central South University, Xiangya Road 110, Changsha, Hunan 410078, PR China
Xuemin Tang
- School of Public Health, Central South University, Xiangya Road 110, Changsha, Hunan 410078, PR China
Zhenqiu Sun
- School of Public Health, Central South University, Xiangya Road 110, Changsha, Hunan 410078, PR China
Xin Yang
- School of Public Health, Central South University, Xiangya Road 110, Changsha, Hunan 410078, PR China
Chengqiu Wu
- School of Public Health, Central South University, Xiangya Road 110, Changsha, Hunan 410078, PR China
Shi Wu Wen
- School of Public Health, Central South University, Xiangya Road 110, Changsha, Hunan 410078, PR China
- Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and of Epidemiology & Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada, K1H 8L6

Received 20 November 2006; received in revised form 21 June 2007; accepted 21 August 2007.

Abstract

The objective of the study was to construct a short screening scale for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We used data from our previous study on PTSD among flood victims in 1998 and 1999 in Hunan, China, which was a representative population sample of 27,267 subjects from 16 to 94 years old. Multistage sampling was used to select the subjects from the flood areas and PTSD was ascertained with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: 4th Edition (DSM-IV). We randomly assigned 80% (n=21,762) of study subjects to construct the screening scale (construct model) and the remaining 20% (n=5505) to test the model. Logistic regression analysis and receiver operating characteristic analysis were used to select a subset of items (symptoms) from the full scale that would effectively predict PTSD. A seven-symptom screening scale for PTSD was selected. A score of 3 or more on this scale was used to define positive cases of PTSD, with a sensitivity of 87.9%, specificity of 97.9%, positive predictive value of 81.3%, and negative predictive value of 98.7%. The short screening scale developed in this study is highly valid, reliable, and predictable. It is an efficient tool to screen PTSD in epidemiological and clinical studies.