Citation

Sloan P, Arsenault L, Hilsenroth MJ. Stress Trauma Crisis 2005; 8(4): 215-228.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/15434610500406301

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of the Impact of Event Scale (IES; Horowitz, Wilner, & Alvarez, 1979) variables in detecting posttraumatic stress and physical symptoms in relevant groups of Gulf War veterans. A large sample of Gulf War veterans were administered the the IES, a semi-structured interview (PSS-I; Foa, Riggs, Dancu, & Rothbaum, 1993) on DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and a Physical Symptom Questionnaire from the National Center for PTSD Patient Medical Information Checklist (1993). This study utilized four groups of veterans: 1) a reserve control group of participants who were in a reserve unit during the Gulf War but not deployed to the Gulf; 2) a Gulf War control group of veterans who were deployed to the Gulf War but did not report any symptoms of PTSD; 3) a subclinical group of Gulf War veterans who reported 1-5 DSM-IV criteria for PTSD; and 4) a group of Gulf War veterans who met DSM-IV criteria for PTSD. Group contrasts supported the hypothesis that IES scores would be significantly different in the expected clinical direction. Analyses also demonstrated significant relationships between IES scores and the number of DSM-IV symptoms of PTSD as well as the number of physical problems reported by these veterans.