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The development of a clinician‐administered PTSD scale
Author(s) -
Blake Dudley David,
Weathers Frank W.,
Nagy Linda M.,
Kaloupek Danny G.,
Gusman Fred D.,
Charney Dennis S.,
Keane Terence M.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.2490080106
Subject(s) - psychology , psychometrics , scale (ratio) , rating scale , clinical psychology , reliability (semiconductor) , test validity , psychiatry , developmental psychology , power (physics) , physics , quantum mechanics
Several interviews are available for assessing PTSD. These interviews vary in merit when compared on stringent psychometric and utility standards. Of all the interviews, the Clinician‐Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS‐1) appears to satisfy these standards most uniformly. The CAPS‐1 is a structured interview for assessing core and associated symptoms of PTSD. It assesses the frequency and intensity of each symptom using standard prompt questions and explicit, behaviorally‐anchored rating scales. The CAPS‐1 yields both continuous and dichotomous scores for current and lifetime PTSD symptoms. Intended for use by experienced clinicians, it also can be administered by appropriately trained paraprofessionals. Data from a large scale psychometric study of the CAPS‐1 have provided impressive evidence of its reliability and validity as a PTSD interview.