Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Volume 16, Issue 6, 2014, Pages 1055-1061

Specific Trauma Subtypes Improve the Predictive Validity of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire in Iraqi Refugees (Article)

Arnetz B.B. , Broadbridge C.L.* , Jamil H. , Lumley M.A. , Pole N. , Barkho E. , Fakhouri M. , Talia Y.R. , Arnetz J.E.
  • a Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3939 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48201, United States, Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
  • b Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3939 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48201, United States, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
  • c Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3939 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48201, United States
  • d Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
  • e Department of Psychology, Smith College, Northampton, MA, United States
  • f Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3939 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48201, United States
  • g Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3939 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48201, United States
  • h Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3939 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48201, United States
  • i Division of Occupational and Environmental Health, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3939 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48201, United States, Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden

Abstract

Trauma exposure contributes to poor mental health among refugees, and exposure often is measured using a cumulative index of items from the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ). Few studies, however, have asked whether trauma subtypes derived from the HTQ could be superior to this cumulative index in predicting mental health outcomes. A community sample of recently arrived Iraqi refugees (N = 298) completed the HTQ and measures of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptoms. Principal components analysis of HTQ items revealed a 5-component subtype model of trauma that accounted for more item variance than a 1-component solution. These trauma subtypes also accounted for more variance in PTSD and depression symptoms (12 and 10 %, respectively) than did the cumulative trauma index (7 and 3 %, respectively). Trauma subtypes provided more information than cumulative trauma in the prediction of negative mental health outcomes. Therefore, use of these subtypes may enhance the utility of the HTQ when assessing at-risk populations. © 2014, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Author Keywords

posttraumatic stress disorder Refugees Depression trauma

Index Keywords

depression refugee Wounds and Injuries human Refugees middle aged injury statistics and numerical data Iraq Aged ethnology United States Young Adult Surveys and Questionnaires Humans psychology Adolescent male female reproducibility Reproducibility of Results questionnaire adult Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84912043047&doi=10.1007%2fs10903-014-9995-9&partnerID=40&md5=83242603c297d6613a03f57f09228b70
DOI: 10.1007/s10903-014-9995-9
ISSN: 15571912
Cited by: 11
Original Language: English