• Login
    View Item 
    •   UMB Digital Archive
    • School, Graduate
    • Theses and Dissertations All Schools
    • View Item
    •   UMB Digital Archive
    • School, Graduate
    • Theses and Dissertations All Schools
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of UMB Digital ArchiveCommunitiesPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionPublication DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Statistics

    Display statistics

    Exploration of cross-cultural adaptability of PTSD among trauma survivors in Northern Iraq, Thailand, and the Democratic Republic of Congo: Application of item response theory and classical test theory

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    Michalopoulos_umaryland_0373D_ ...
    Size:
    1.443Mb
    Format:
    PDF
    Download
    Author
    Michalopoulos, Lynn Theresa Murphy
    Advisor
    Cornelius, Llewellyn Joseph, 1959-
    Date
    2013
    Type
    dissertation
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Abstract
    Background: There has been an ongoing debate in the trauma field regarding the validity of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a construct among trauma-affected populations displaced from or living in non-Western, low and middle income countries. Some researchers argue that PTSD is a Western construct that is only relevant in Western settings, while others assert that PTSD may be a universal concept. Purpose: To determine if there are a core set of PTSD symptoms that are applicable across three non-Western low and middle income countries (LMIC). Methods: Secondary data analysis was conducted from baseline, screening and validity studies among torture survivors in Northern Iraq, sexual violence survivors in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Burmese survivors of mass human rights violations in Thailand. Item response theory (IRT) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to explore core PTSD symptoms. Results: Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the best fitting model for the whole sample was a 4-factor "numbing" model (with effortful avoidance, arousal, numbing and intrusion factors). Results from the multidimensional IRT rating scale model indicated four core items across the whole sample. Accounting for multidimensionality with the "numbing" PTSD model, the four items were from the effortful avoidance and arousal domains. Results revealed that seven items demonstrated differential item functioning were from the re-experiencing, numbing, and arousal domains. All items demonstrated statistically significant differential item functioning but small to moderate effect size. Conclusions: Core items found across the three countries are indicative of culturally relevant items that are concrete in nature, as well as relatively easy to measure and operationalize. The small effect size in the potential DIF items suggests that there is little meaningful/clinical difference of the items across country for general screening of PTSD symptoms. However, in clinical settings where a specific assessment for culture is developed or utilized, DIF items should potentially be accounted for and analyzed as having item bias. In general, findings suggest that measurement PTSD has universal as well as country-specific aspects.
    Description
    University of Maryland, Baltimore. Social Work. Ph.D. 2013
    Keyword
    cross cultural
    measurement
    PTSD
    trauma
    Post-traumatic stress disorder
    Identifier to cite or link to this item
    http://hdl.handle.net/10713/2766
    Collections
    Theses and Dissertations All Schools
    Theses and Dissertations School of Social Work

    entitlement

     
    DSpace software (copyright © 2002 - 2023)  DuraSpace
    Quick Guide | Policies | Contact Us | UMB Health Sciences & Human Services Library
    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.