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Methods are needed for quantifying the potency and differential effects of risk factors to identify at-risk groups for theory building and intervention. Traditional methods for constructing war exposure measures are poorly suited to "unpack" differential relations between specific types of exposure and specific outcomes. This study of 881 Bosnian adolescents compared both common factor-effect indicator (using exploratory factor analysis) versus composite causal-indicator methods for "unpacking" dimensions of war exposure and their respective paths to postwar adjustment outcomes. The composite method better supported theory building and most intervention applications, showing how multitiered interventions can enhance treatment effectiveness and efficiency in war settings. Used together, the methods may unpack the elements and differential effects of "caravans" of risk and promotive factors that co-occur across development.

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A substantial minority of people dropout of cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). There has been considerable research investigating who drops out of PTSD treatment, however, the question of dropout occurs has received far less attention. The purpose of the current study was to examine when individuals drop out of CBT for PTSD. Women participants (N = 321) were randomized to one of several PTSD treatment conditions. The conditions included Prolonged Exposure (PE), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), CPT-cognitive only (CPT-C), and written accounts (WA). Survival analysis was used to examine temporal pattern of treatment dropout. Thirty-nine percent of participants dropped out of treatment, and those that dropped out tended to do so by mid treatment. Moreover, the pattern of treatment dropout was consistent across CBT conditions. Additional research is needed to examine if treatment dropout patterns are consistent across treatment modalities and settings.