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Abstract
The current report used confirmatory factor analysis to examine the latent structures of both key features and associated symptoms of three disorders that commonly develop following a traumatic event: posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Participants were 228 motor-vehicle accident survivors who sought treatment for emotional difficulties. PTSD, MDD, and GAD were assessed with a combination of self-report and interview-based measures. The results of construct level analyses suggested that PTSD, MDD, and GAD are distinguishable but highly correlated disorders following a traumatic event. Symptom level analyses supported a model where the Reexperiencing, Avoidance, and Hypervigilance factors were subsumed under the PTSD construct. However, in this model the Dysphoria factor was a higher order construct correlated with the PTSD, MDD, and GAD factors, suggesting that the Dysphoria cluster may not be unique to PTSD. Diagnostic and theoretical implications of these results are discussed.
A trauma is defined as an event involving actual or threatened loss of life or personal integrity such that one experiences extreme fear, helplessness, or horror (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Epidemiologic data indicate that 8% to 18% of individuals who experience trauma will develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Breslau et al., 1998; Kessler, Sonnega, Bromet, Hughes, & Nelson, 1995), a collection of symptoms that persist for at least 1 month and include intrusive thoughts about the traumatic event, avoidance of situations that remind one of the trauma, emotional numbing, and physiological hyperarousal. Although a specific stressor is required for a diagnosis of PTSD, studies have found that both major depressive disorder (MDD; Franklin & Zimmerman, 2001) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD; Green, Lindy, Grace, & Gleser, 1989; Kessler et al., 1995) commonly develop in the aftermath of a trauma. However, because of high levels of comorbidity across the anxiety and mood disorders, it is unclear whether these three disorders are distinguishable emotional...