Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Do Electrical Startle Responses and Thyroid Function Usefully Supplement Self-Report? A Study of Vietnam War Veterans

2003 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 334-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Elisabeth Wells ◽  
Timothy H. Williams ◽  
Alastair D. Macleod ◽  
Grant J. Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Vietnam War ◽  
Thyroid Function ◽  
Startle Response ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Short Term Test ◽  
Ptsd Scale ◽  
Test Retest Reliability ◽  
Vietnam War Veterans

Objective: To investigate the usefulness of electrical startle responses and thyroid function as supplements to self-report measures of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Method: Invitations were sent to all New Zealand Vietnam War veterans known to be living in North Canterbury; 50 responded and the 35 living in or near Christchurch were included. Self-report measures of PTSD (the Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS) and the Symptom Check List (SCL-90-R)), an eye blink electrical startle response and thyroid function were measured. The DTS was re-administered one to two weeks later to assess short-term test–retest reliability. Six months later the DTS and the electrical startle response were measured again. Results: The veterans reported a wide range of PTSD severity, with 15/35 reporting prior diagnosis of PTSD. The DTS showed high short-term test–retest reliability (r = 0.93) and a moderate correlation after 6 months (r = 0.73). It also showed sensitivity to change; in one to two weeks the scores increased by nearly half a standard deviation, possibly because of an imminent ‘homecoming’ march. The DTS and a PTSD scale from the SCL-90-R were highly correlated (r = 0.89). The total triiodothyronine (T3) to free thyroxine (T4) ratio measure of thyroid function correlated poorly with self-report (r ≤ 0.27). The electrical startle response also correlated poorly with self-report (r ≤ 0.26), showed low internal consistency between left and right sides (r = 0.43), and correlated 0.39 over six months. It was disliked by the veterans and had increased slightly at 6 month follow-up, perhaps because of sensitization. Conclusions: The DTS was reliable and correlated highly with the SCL-90-R PTSD scale. Neither thyroid function nor eye blink electrical startle correlated with each other or with selfreport, and reliability was not good for electrical startle. These two measures do not appear to add anything useful to the assessment of PTSD.

Test-Retest Reliability of a Self-Report Questionnaire for DSM-IV and ICD-10 Personality Disorders

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Ottosson ◽  
Martin Grann ◽  
Gunnar Kullgren
Keyword(s):  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Anxiety Disorders ◽  
Personality Disorders ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Anxiety State ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Retest Reliability ◽  
Axis I ◽  
Test Retest Reliability

Summary: Short-term stability or test-retest reliability of self-reported personality traits is likely to be biased if the respondent is affected by a depressive or anxiety state. However, in some studies, DSM-oriented self-reported instruments have proved to be reasonably stable in the short term, regardless of co-occurring depressive or anxiety disorders. In the present study, we examined the short-term test-retest reliability of a new self-report questionnaire for personality disorder diagnosis (DIP-Q) on a clinical sample of 30 individuals, having either a depressive, an anxiety, or no axis-I disorder. Test-retest scorings from subjects with depressive disorders were mostly unstable, with a significant change in fulfilled criteria between entry and retest for three out of ten personality disorders: borderline, avoidant and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. Scorings from subjects with anxiety disorders were unstable only for cluster C and dependent personality disorder items. In the absence of co-morbid depressive or anxiety disorders, mean dimensional scores of DIP-Q showed no significant differences between entry and retest. Overall, the effect from state on trait scorings was moderate, and it is concluded that test-retest reliability for DIP-Q is acceptable.

Short-Term Test–Retest Reliability of Contralateral Suppression of Click-Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions in Normal-Hearing Subjects

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Hannah Keppler ◽  
Sofie Degeest ◽  
Bart Vinck
Keyword(s):  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Otoacoustic Emissions ◽  
Otoacoustic Emission ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Retest Reliability ◽  
Reliability Parameters ◽  
Contralateral Suppression ◽  
Short Term Test ◽  
Test Retest Reliability

Purpose The objective of the current study was to investigate the short-term test–retest reliability of contralateral suppression (CS) of click-evoked otoacoustic emissions (CEOAEs) using commercially available otoacoustic emission equipment. Method Twenty-three young normal-hearing subjects were tested. An otoscopic evaluation, admittance measures, pure-tone audiometry, measurements of CEOAEs without and with contralateral acoustic stimulation (CAS) to determine CS were performed at baseline ( n = 23), an immediate retest without and with refitting of the probe (only CS of CEOAEs; n = 11), and a retest after 1 week ( n = 23) were performed. Test–retest reliability parameters were determined on CEOAE response amplitudes without and with CAS, and on raw and normalized CS indices between baseline and the other test moments. Results Repeated-measures analysis of variance indicated no random or systematic changes in CEOAE response amplitudes without and with CAS, and in raw and normalized CS indices between the test moments. Moderate-to-high intraclass correlation coefficients with mostly high significant between-subjects variability between baseline and each consecutive test moment were found for CEOAE response amplitude without and with CAS, and for the raw and normalized CS indices. Other reliability parameters deteriorated between CEOAE response amplitudes with CAS as compared to without CAS, between baseline and retest with probe refitting, and after 1 week, as well as for frequency-specific raw and normalized CS indices as compared to global CS indices. Conclusions There was considerable variability in raw and normalized CS indices as measured using CEOAEs with CAS using commercially available otoacoustic emission equipment. More research is needed to optimize the measurement of CS of CEOAEs and to reduce influencing factors, as well as to make generalization of test–retest reliability data possible.

Short-term test–retest reliability of the ImPACT in healthy young athletes

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 208-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda M. O’Brien ◽  
Joseph E. Casey ◽  
Rachel M. Salmon
Keyword(s):  
Young Athletes ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Retest Reliability ◽  
Short Term Test ◽  
Test Retest Reliability ◽  
The Impact

The Relationships Between Premilitary School Record Data and Risk for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Vietnam War Veterans

1998 ◽  
Vol 186 (6) ◽  
pp. 338-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHARLES G. WATSON ◽  
ERNEST DAVENPORT ◽  
PATRICIA E. D. ANDERSON ◽  
CLAUDIA M. MENDEZ ◽  
LEE P. GEARHART
Keyword(s):  
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽  
Vietnam War ◽  
Posttraumatic Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
War Veterans ◽  
Record Data ◽  
Vietnam War Veterans

Validation of the MCMI-III PTSD Scale among Combat Veterans

1997 ◽  
Vol 80 (3) ◽  
pp. 720-722 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Hyer ◽  
Stephanie Boyd ◽  
Ellen Stanger ◽  
Harry Davis ◽  
Paul Walters
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Group ◽  
Combat Veterans ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Combat Exposure ◽  
Response Style ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Ptsd Treatment ◽  
Mississippi Scale ◽  
Ptsd Scale ◽  
The Impact

The new MCMI-III Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) scale was validated on 104 combat veterans who were divided into two groups, PTSD Treatment Group and Non-PTSD Treatment Group. PTSD status was carefully determined by clinical interview and therapists' reports. The Combat Exposure Scale, the Mississippi Scale for Combat-related PTSD, and the Impact of Events Scale were also given. Analysis showed that the MCMI-III PTSD scale had a low internal consistency, but that it significantly differentiated the two groups and significantly correlated to those on other PTSD self-report scales. This scale appeared to be influenced by an acquiescent response style. Further validation studies are needed.

TEMPORAL STABILITY OF THE FRANCIS SCALE OF ATTITUDE TOWARD CHRISTIANITY AMONG 9- TO 11-YEAR-OLD ENGLISH CHILDREN: TEST-RETEST DATA OVER SIX WEEKS

2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (9) ◽  
pp. 1081-1086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Alan Lewis ◽  
Sharon Mary Cruise ◽  
Conor Mc Guckin ◽  
Leslie J. Francis
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Old English ◽  
Temporal Stability ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Retest Reliability ◽  
Short Term Test ◽  
Test Retest Reliability ◽  
Attitude Toward Christianity ◽  
Very High ◽  
Francis Scale

Recently two studies have reported on the test-retest reliability of the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity; however, these studies were limited to samples of university students. This study examined the temporal stability of both the 24- and 7-item versions of the junior version of the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity (Francis, 1978; Francis, Greer, & Gibson, 1991) over a six-week period among a sample of 58 English children aged between 9 and 11 years old. Data demonstrated that stability across the two administrations was very high for both the 24- (r=.74) and 7-item (r=.67) versions, and there was no significant change between Time 1 and Time 2 for either version. These data support the short-term test-retest reliability of both the 24- and 7-item versions of the junior version of the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity among children.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document