Assessing the underlying dimensionality of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms in Chinese adolescents surviving the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

Li Wang; Lingmin Zhang; Cherie Armour; Chengqi Cao; Yulan Qing; Jianxin Zhang; Ping Liu; Biao Zhang; Qi Wu; Zhihong Zhao; Gaolin Fan

doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2015.02.006

Assessing the underlying dimensionality of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms in Chinese adolescents surviving the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

J Anxiety Disord. 2015 Apr:31:90-7. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2015.02.006. Epub 2015 Mar 2.

Authors

Li Wang¹, Lingmin Zhang², Cherie Armour³, Chengqi Cao⁴, Yulan Qing⁴, Jianxin Zhang⁵, Ping Liu⁶, Biao Zhang⁷, Qi Wu⁷, Zhihong Zhao⁸, Gaolin Fan⁸

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China. Electronic address: wangli1@psych.ac.cn.
² Department of Psychology, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China.
³ Psychology Research Institute, University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; People's Hospital of Deyang City, Deyang, Sichuan, China.
⁷ People's Hospital of Deyang City, Deyang, Sichuan, China.
⁸ Hanwang People's Hospital, Deyang, Sichuan, China.

PMID: 25768398
DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2015.02.006

Abstract

By analyzing data yielded from a sample of Chinese adolescents surviving a high-intensity earthquake, this study investigated the underlying dimensionality of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms. The sample included 743 traumatized middle school students (396 females and 332 males) aged 11-17 years (mean=13.6, SD=1.0). Results of confirmatory factor analysis showed that an intercorrelated seven-factor model comprised of intrusion, avoidance, negative affect, anhedonia, externalizing behaviors, anxious arousal, and dysphoric arousal factors provided a significant better representation of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms than other alternative models. Further analyses indicated that external measures of major depression disorder and panic disorder symptoms displayed unique associations with four PTSD factors. The findings provide further support for the newly proposed seven-factor model of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms, add to very limited empirical knowledge on the latent structure of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms among adolescents, and carry implications for further refinement of the current classifications of PTSD symptoms and further clinical practice and research on posttraumatic stress symptomatology.

Keywords: China; Confirmatory factor analysis; DSM-5; Earthquake; Posttraumatic stress disorder.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Anxiety Disorders / diagnosis
Anxiety Disorders / ethnology
Anxiety Disorders / psychology
Arousal
Child
China / ethnology
Depressive Disorder, Major / diagnosis
Depressive Disorder, Major / ethnology
Depressive Disorder, Major / psychology
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Earthquakes*
Factor Analysis, Statistical
Female
Humans
Male
Panic Disorder / diagnosis
Panic Disorder / ethnology
Panic Disorder / psychology
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / diagnosis*
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / ethnology
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / psychology
Survivors / psychology