Psychological Testing and Clinical Diagnosis: PTSD
Summary of the Chosen Disorder
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that develops to people who have witnessed a traumatic event (Weathers, 2014). In the U.S., PTSD is a highly prevalent disorder, especially to veterans, service members, and older adults. In 2018, the prevalence of PTSD was estimated at 3.5% overall by NCS-R. The lifetime PTSD prevalence among older adult Americans was estimated at 6.8 percent. According to the DSM-5 diagnostic tool, an individual has to be exposed to the actual traumatic event to be diagnosed with PTSD (Ronald, 2017). In reference to the DSM-5, victims of PSTD exhibit one or more of the following intrusion symptoms: recurrent distressing memories of the traumatic event, dissociative behaviors, and recurrent distressing dreams associated with the event, and intense psychological distress if exposed to an event resembling the prior traumatic event.
Tools used for Selected Diagnosis
DSM’S Cross-cutting Symptom Measure: To diagnose PTSD, the DSM-5 Level 1 cross-cutting symptoms measure will be used. This tool is an informant-rated measure useful to assess mental health domains that are crucial in PTSD diagnosis (Foa & Tolin, 2005). Through the tool, therapists identify additional areas of inquiry whose information has a significant effect on the client’s prognosis and treatment.
Modified PTSD Symptom Scale (MPSS-SR): According to (Seligman, 2011), MPSS-SR entails a 17-item self-report tool that helps a counselor to assess the 17 DSM-III-R symptoms for diagnosing PTSD. A clinician can thus use this tool in making a preliminary determination when diagnosing a client of PTSD by either using DSM-III-R criteria, or severity, frequency, or total score cut-off scores.
Primary care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5): This 5-item screen is used in primary care settings to diagnose people of PTSD. It works by first assessing whether the person was exposed to a trauma event (Foa & Tolin, 2005).
Psychological Tests for Selected Diagnosis
Likert scale tests: Using this test, the clinician uses a scale of five to seven to allow the client to express how much he or she agrees or disagrees with a certain statement related to the traumatic experience (Ronald, 2017). Also, a clinician relies on the Likert scale tests to assess the client of PTSD symptoms according to DSM-5. Each item in the scale explains the symptom in terms of frequency and severity, creating subscales of avoidance, re-experiencing, arousal, and the total score by the client. This information facilitates diagnosis.
Thurstone scale tests: This test measures a person’s attitude towards the traumatic event that he or she experienced….Continue Reading….
Validity and Reliability of the Recommended Tests
Likert and Thurstone scale tests are both attitude tests. In PTSD diagnosis, clinicians seek to determine an individual’s feelings about the specific traumatic event. Such feelings measured through Likert and Thurstone scales include shame, helplessness, self-blame, defectiveness, fear, depression, stress, anxiety, and other unrealistic feelings (Ronald, 2017). In a clinical setting, people seeking PTSD treatment know that their attitude is being examined. According to (Seligman, 2011), Likert scale tests are valid and reliable based on the response rates given by the clients. The scale is limited to five options, and this makes it easy for respondents to understand and select the scale that matches their feelings. In the case of Thurstone scale tests, these provide a broad scope for patients to express their feelings to the clinician. Thus, the validity and reliability of the two tests in PTSD diagnosis meet the recommended criteria under the DSM-5.
Personality Assessment
According to (Ronald, 2017), personality assessments are used to measure personality traits and styles. In the treatment of PTSD, personality assessment is commonly applied to help with clinical diagnosis. In the diagnosis of PTSD, personality tests can provide valid and reliable information to support the clinician in the treatment process (Foa & Tolin, 2005). This is because they help a clinician to refine the PTSD diagnosis, structure the client personality report, interpret the report, and hence inform the clinician in the choice for psychological interventions. Thus, counselors should use psychological tests to set treatment plans based on the client’s severity, frequency, and magnitude impact of the trauma to his/her personality (Weathers, 2014).
Additional Information about Each Test
Likert scale tests are short-term, and their scale usually has 5, 7, or 9 points (Ronald, 2017). However, five and seven scales are frequently used. The cost of administering the Likert test varies depending on the frequency and severity of the trauma event on the victim, with this price ranging between $50 and $120 per session. Like Likert, Thurstone scale tests are short-term and can cost between $100 and $150 per session depending on the response rate by the client. However, developing the scale could be time-consuming and a relatively complex process by the counselor (Foa & Tolin, 2005). The Thurstone scale test has a high test-retest reliability whose range is 0.90 to 0.95.
References
Foa, E. B., & Tolin, D. F. (2005). Comparison of the PTSD symptom scale–interview version and the clinician‐administered PTSD scale. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 13(2), 310.
Ronald, J. C. (2017). Psychological Testing and Assessment (9th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
Seligman, L. (2011). Diagnosis and treatment planning in counseling. Boston: Springer Science & Business Media.
Weathers, F. W. (2014). Posttraumatic stress disorder in DSM-5: New criteria, new measures, and implications for assessment. Psychological Injury and Law, 7(2), 93-107.