Factor structure of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms in trauma-exposed adolescents: Examining stability across time

Li Wang; Xing Cao; Chengqi Cao; Ruojiao Fang; Haibo Yang; Jon D Elhai

doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2017.07.001

Factor structure of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms in trauma-exposed adolescents: Examining stability across time

J Anxiety Disord. 2017 Dec:52:88-94. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2017.07.001. Epub 2017 Jul 23.

Authors

Li Wang¹, Xing Cao¹, Chengqi Cao¹, Ruojiao Fang¹, Haibo Yang², Jon D Elhai³

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory for Traumatic Stress Studies, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
² Laboratory for Traumatic Stress Studies, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China. Electronic address: Yanghb@psych.ac.cn.
³ Department of Psychology, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Toledo, Toledo, USA.

PMID: 28774745
DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2017.07.001

Abstract

This study investigated the latent structure of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms using two-wave longitudinal data collected from a sample of adolescents exposed to an explosion accident. Two waves of surveys were conducted approximately 3 and 8 months after the accident, respectively. A total of 836 students completed the baseline survey, and 762 students completed the follow-up survey. The results of confirmatory factor analyses(CFA) indicated that a seven-factor hybrid model composed of intrusion, avoidance, negative affect, anhedonia, externalizing behaviors, anxious arousal and dysphoric arousal factors yielded significantly better data fit at both waves than the other models including the DSM-5 four-factor model, the six-factor anhedonia and externalizing behaviors models. Furthermore, the results of CFA invariance tests supported the longitudinal invariance of the model. Implications and limitations in terms of these results are discussed.

Keywords: Adolescents; Confirmatory factor analysis; DSM-5; Longitudinal invariance; Posttraumatic stress disorder.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Anhedonia / physiology
Anxiety / diagnosis
Anxiety / psychology
Arousal / physiology
Avoidance Learning
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Explosions*
Factor Analysis, Statistical
Female
Humans
Male
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / diagnosis*
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / psychology
Students / psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires