Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Three Studies in Reliability and Validity

The Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is a 35-item self-report scale derived from Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria for the disorder. This article describes a series of three studies designed to explore the psychometric properties of the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of consulting and clinical psychology 1988-02, Vol.56 (1), p.85-90
Main Authors: Keane, Terence M, Caddell, Juesta M, Taylor, Kathryn L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Armed forces
Biological and medical sciences
Human
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Mental disorders
Military Veterans
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Psychodiagnosis
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychometrics
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Rating Scales
Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry
Social research
Sociocultural environment
Stress
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis
Test Reliability
Test Validity
Tests
Veterans - psychology
Vietnam
War
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Summary:The Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is a 35-item self-report scale derived from Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria for the disorder. This article describes a series of three studies designed to explore the psychometric properties of the scale. Study 1 used 362 Vietnam veterans seeking help at Vet Centers (Operation Outreach) to confirm the internal consistency of the instrument and provide an assessment of its factor structure. Study 2 demonstrated the high test-retest reliability of the instrument over a period of 1 week. Study 3 indicated that the test's sensitivity was .93, specificity was .89, and overall hit rate was .90 when it was used to differentiate between a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) group and two non-PTSD comparison groups. The utility of the test when it is administered within the context of a multiaxial approach to assess military-related PTSD is discussed.
ISSN:0022-006X
1939-2117
DOI:10.1037/0022-006X.56.1.85