Stability of reported trauma over extended intervals: Initial evaluation of an exposure screening protocol.

Abstract

The reliability and validity of reported exposure to significant trauma is critical to research evaluating outcomes following serious and distressing life events. The current study examined the reliability of reported exposure to disaster, fire, transportation accidents, physical assault, and sexual assault across 5- (N = 251), 12- (N = 223), and 24-month (N = 109) intervals in undergraduates completing a screening measure of probable trauma (N = 3,045). Concordance with later responses to an alternate checklist and events assessed via clinical interview was examined in a subset of participants (N = 274). Five-month reliabilities ranged from good to fair (κ = .40–.71) and were similar to 1–2 week retest estimates in the extant literature. Reliabilities for fire, accidents, and sexual assault remained stable over 12- and 24-month intervals. Coefficients for disaster and physical assault decreased over time. Agreement with the alternate checklist was fair to excellent in those completing the follow-up assessment (κ = .51–.87). Concordance with interview-based trauma was acceptable for accidents (κ = .52) and sexual violence (κ = .82) but poor for disaster, fire, and physical assault (κ = .34–.38). Specificity, negative predictive power, and negative likelihood ratios suggest checklists may hold utility in ruling out previous trauma. Sensitivities indicate that screening instruments may broadly capture individuals experiencing traumatic life events although positive predictive power was limited except in the prediction of traffic accidents and sexual assault. Variability across domains suggests that the properties of checklist measures could be better conceptualized at the level of individual exposure events.

Temporal Stability of Self‐Reported Trauma Exposure on the Life Events Checklist for DSM‐5

“…All participants who completed assessments at T3 also completed T2 follow‐up. This recruitment rate from mass screening samples is consistent with previous research (Clapp et al., 2019), as most students in the participant pool complete the initial screening, whereas only a subset self‐select into follow‐up studies. Participants who completed the present study earned course credit.…”

“…Over a period of weeks to months, individuals demonstrate concordance that ranges from poor to excellent when reporting traumatic experiences (Clapp et al., 2019; Goodman et al., 1998; Gray et al., 2004; Krinsley et al., 2003; Kubany et al., 2000; McHugo et al., 2005; Mueser et al., 2001). In examining the consistency of scores on the original LEC, Gray et al.…”

“…In the only study of which we are aware that assessed stability over an extended interval, Clapp et al. (2019) used their novel Exposure Screening Protocol to examine the stability of self‐reported direct exposure to five types of trauma over 5‐, 12‐, and 24‐month intervals. The findings indicated fair‐to‐good (i.e., κs = .40–.71) 5‐month stability, with transportation accidents and sexual assaults reported most consistently, whereas the reporting for fire/explosions was consistently lower across time and the reporting on natural disasters and physical assaults worsened across time.…”

Rumination as a mechanism of the association between interpretation bias and depression symptoms: A longitudinal investigation

“…Thus, the final sample for longitudinal analyses consisted of the 278 who elected to participate in the follow-up surveys and completed measures at all three assessment time points. This rate of recruitment into follow-up studies is consistent with previous research using mass screening procedures (Clapp et al, 2019; Pugach et al, 2021), as almost all students in the participant pool complete the mass screening, but only a subset participate in any one of the many studies offered to the pool each semester. All participants were aged 18 or older and demographic data for both groups is available in Table 1, along with the percentage of each sample who reported depressive symptoms.…”

Behavioral inhibition and posttrauma symptomatology: Moderating effects of safety behaviors and biological sex

“…Participants were university students involved in an ongoing study of interpersonal and functional outcomes following significant trauma. Students reporting exposure to one or more potentially traumatic events during an initial screening were invited to participate in the larger study (Clapp, Kern, Kozina, Ripley, & Lear, ; Kern, Stacy, Ripley, Kozina, & Clapp, ). Following the provision of informed consent, participants completed an event checklist that was reviewed by a graduate‐ or doctoral‐level clinician.…”