Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
Volume 198, Issue 10, 2010, Pages 762-767

HADStress screen for posttraumatic stress: Replication in Ethiopian refugees (Article)

Gulden A. , Westermeyer J.* , Lien R. , Spring M. , Johnson D. , Butcher J. , Jaranson J.
  • a Minneapolis Veterans Administration Medical Center, 1 Veterans Drive, #116A, Minneapolis, MN 55417, United States
  • b Minneapolis Veterans Administration Medical Center, 1 Veterans Drive, #116A, Minneapolis, MN 55417, United States, Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States
  • c Professional Data Analysts, Minneapolis, St. Paul, MN, United States
  • d Minneapolis Veterans Administration Medical Center, 1 Veterans Drive, #116A, Minneapolis, MN 55417, United States
  • e Health Division, Department of State, Washington, DC, United States
  • f Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States
  • g Department of Epidemiology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States

Abstract

Purpose was to assess whether a 4-symptom somatic screen, shown to correlate with current post-traumatic stress symptoms in 1 refugee group, could function as a screening instrument in another group of refugees. Sample consisted of 512 community-dwelling refugees from Ethiopia. Data collection included demography, types of torture and nontorture trauma experienced a decade earlier in Africa, and current posttraumatic stress symptoms. Somatic symptoms included headaches (H), appetite change (A), dizziness and faintness (D), and sleep problems (S), added with equal weighting into the HADStress Screen, ranging from 0 to 4. Results showed that age, gender, torture, and other trauma experiences from a decade ago, and current posttraumatic stress symptoms predicted current somatic symptoms on univariate analyses. On a negative binomial regression model, current posttraumatic stress symptoms, male gender, and number of torture types predicted a high HADStress score. Post hoc tests supported cut-off levels at 3 and at 4 symptoms. Conclusion is that the HADStress Screen can serve as an efficient, nonthreatening screen for posttraumatic stress symptoms among refugees. Copyright © 2010 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Author Keywords

Screening Refugee somatization posttraumatic stress Torture

Index Keywords

Negro refugee mass screening psychological aspect demography human sex difference Refugees middle aged statistics Aged Minnesota ethnology dizziness screening United States Young Adult Humans post hoc analysis appetite disorder Adolescent African Continental Ancestry Group male faintness headache female reproducibility Reproducibility of Results questionnaire Psychometrics psychometry Article Ethiopia Questionnaires adult posttraumatic stress disorder Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic Somatoform Disorders somatoform disorder Torture
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-77958194578&doi=10.1097%2fNMD.0b013e3181f49c0a&partnerID=40&md5=8cc2937eb1f4163735835a9206b4af82
DOI: 10.1097/NMD.0b013e3181f49c0a
ISSN: 00223018
Cited by: 4
Original Language: English