TY - JOUR

T1 - Challenges in the retrospective assessment of trauma

T2 - comparing a checklist approach to a single item trauma experience screening question

AU - Frissa, S

AU - Hatch, SL

AU - Fear, NT

AU - Dorrington, S

AU - Goodwin, L

AU - Hotopf, M

PY - 2016/2/1

Y1 - 2016/2/1

N2 - BackgroundResearch on trauma and its impact on mental health typically relies on self-reports which can be influenced by recall bias and an individual’s subjective interpretation of events. This study aims to compare responses on a checklist of life events with a trauma experience screening question, both of which assessed trauma experience retrospectively.MethodsA community sample of adults were asked about life events from a checklist before asking them whether they ever had a trauma experience, i.e. “an event that either puts them or someone close to them at risk of serious harm or death”.ResultsLess than half of the sample who reported at least one life event on the checklist that qualified as a trauma reported a trauma experience that they perceived put them or close others at risk of serious harm. Women responders, those reporting early life traumas, and a greater number of lifetime trauma events were more likely to report a trauma experience. Current symptoms of Common Mental Disorder did not account for differences in reporting of trauma experiences.ConclusionsEpidemiological approaches which require participants to make subjective judgement on the severity of the trauma experience will capture individual differences that we have shown are influenced by gender and previous trauma experience.

AB - BackgroundResearch on trauma and its impact on mental health typically relies on self-reports which can be influenced by recall bias and an individual’s subjective interpretation of events. This study aims to compare responses on a checklist of life events with a trauma experience screening question, both of which assessed trauma experience retrospectively.MethodsA community sample of adults were asked about life events from a checklist before asking them whether they ever had a trauma experience, i.e. “an event that either puts them or someone close to them at risk of serious harm or death”.ResultsLess than half of the sample who reported at least one life event on the checklist that qualified as a trauma reported a trauma experience that they perceived put them or close others at risk of serious harm. Women responders, those reporting early life traumas, and a greater number of lifetime trauma events were more likely to report a trauma experience. Current symptoms of Common Mental Disorder did not account for differences in reporting of trauma experiences.ConclusionsEpidemiological approaches which require participants to make subjective judgement on the severity of the trauma experience will capture individual differences that we have shown are influenced by gender and previous trauma experience.

U2 - 10.1186/s12888-016-0720-1

DO - 10.1186/s12888-016-0720-1

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 26830818

VL - 16

JO - BMC Psychiatry

JF - BMC Psychiatry

SN - 1471-244X

M1 - 20

ER -