Comparative Efficacy Between Self-Report and Clinician-Administered Assessments of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms Across Seven Studies

Abstract

A meta-analysis of seven studies using self-report and clinician-administered assessments to evaluate the effectiveness of a cognitive processing therapy (CPT) intervention among 684 participants. A secondary moderation analysis was completed to investigate the effect of assessment type, type of comparison group, and publication date with effect size reporting in seven studies evaluating the effectiveness of CPT for treating posttraumatic stress disorder. Results indicated no significant differences and modest effect sizes for assessment format (self-report vs. clinician administered) and publication date. A medium effect size was detected for type of comparison group implemented within individual studies. Implications for counseling practice and future research are discussed.

Differential Estimation of Treatment Effect Between Clinician‐Administered and Self‐Reported PTSD Assessments

“…Historically, this practice has provided a strategy for confirming the nature of findings and is regarded as a best practice to assuage the effects of measurement error. This method is justifiable among adults samples, wherein researchers have detected statistically significant convergence between C‐A and S‐R assessments for estimating PTSD outcomes (Cody, Jones, Woodward, Simmons, & Beck, 2017; Lenz & Williams, 2014). These findings appear to remain consistent across some important characteristics, such as gender (Irish et al, 2011), participants’ expectations for treatment (Price et al, 2015), and factor structure used to depict PTSD scores (Scher, McCreary, Asmundson, & Resick, 2008).…”

The fear that remains: Associations between trauma, related psychopathology, and fear‐potentiated startle in youth resettled as refugees

“…However, self‐report questionnaires are beneficial in that they reduce time and burden on both participants and researchers compared to clinical interviews, and self‐report questionnaires may be more readily adapted in a variety of integrative settings, including primary care clinics and resettlement agencies. Additionally, previous research has shown concordance between self‐ and clinician‐administered measures of PTSD (Lenz & Williams, 2014; Lunney et al., 2014), indicating the accuracy and utility of such self‐report measures for research. While large variation in biological data may limit generalizability of findings and require larger samples, our sample is a relatively demographically homogenous cohort with shared ancestry and similar experiences in trauma exposure, migration, and the resettlement process.…”