Psychometric profile of posttraumatic stress disorder, anxious, and healthy Vietnam veterans: Correlations with psychophysiologic responses.

1 January 1990

journal article
Published by American Psychological Association (APA) in Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

Vol. 58 (3) , 329-335
https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-006x.58.3.329

Abstract

Three groups of Vietnam combat veterans, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD, n = 25), anxious (n = 7), and healthy (n = 18), completed a battery of psychometric tests. Measurement of psychophysiologic responses to imagery of individualized combat experiences followed the psychometrics. The PTSD Ss differed significantly from the healthy Ss on almost all measures but showed fewer differences from the anxious Ss. The typical PTSD S was characterized as anxious, depressed, prone to dissociation, and external in locus of control. Correlations with the physiologic responses supported the validity of psychometric scales specifically designed to measure PTSD but cast doubt on the interpretation of traditional measures of overreporting or dissimulation in this disorder.

Keywords

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: