ABSTRACT

Adolescents who have experienced maltreatment are at enhanced risk for posttraumatic disorder (PTSD) and posttraumatic symptoms (PTS). Two key aspects of PTSD/PTS include dissociation and trauma-related cognitions, and these constructs are often measured via the Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale (ADES) and Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI). Unfortunately, little is known regarding the potential unique factor structures of these measures for maltreated youth with PTSD/PTS. Such knowledge would help clinicians develop more targeted assessments and clinical profiles for these youth. The primary aim of the present study was thus to examine the factor structures of the ADES and PTCI in a sample of 279 maltreated youth with PTSD/PTS (M_age = 14.25 years, SD = 1.78). A secondary aim was to identify whether identified factor structures from the present study sample of maltreated youth better predicted key PTSD symptom clusters of reexperiencing, avoidance, and hyperarousal compared to factor structures reported in previous literature. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed factor structures unique to this sample that better met goodness-of-fit criteria compared to other factor structures. These unique factor structures also displayed invariance across gender and age groups. In addition, the unique factor structure of the PTCI but not the ADES was a better predictor of reexperiencing and avoidance symptoms in maltreated youth compared to other factor structures in the literature. The results indicate that assessment protocols for maltreated youth with posttraumatic symptoms should be more closely tailored to the unique aspects of this population.

摘要

经历过虐待的青少年患创伤后障碍 (PTSD) 和创伤后症状 (PTS) 的风险增加。PTSD/PTS 的两个关键方面包括分离和与创伤相关的认知，这些结构通常通过青少年分离体验量表 (ADES) 和创伤后认知量表 (PTCI) 来衡量。不幸的是，对于这些措施对患有 PTSD/PTS 受虐待青年的潜在独特因素结构知之甚少。这些知识将帮助临床医生为这些年轻人制定更有针对性的评估和临床概况。因此，本研究的主要目的是检查 279 名受虐待的 PTSD/PTS 青年样本中 ADES 和 PTCI 的因子结构（M_年龄 = 14.25 岁，SD = 1.78)。次要目的是确定与先前文献中报道的因素结构相比，从当前受虐待青年研究样本中确定的因素结构是否更好地预测了重新体验、回避和过度觉醒的关键 PTSD 症状群。验证性因子分析揭示了该样本独有的因子结构，与其他因子结构相比，它更符合拟合优度标准。这些独特的因素结构也表现出跨性别和年龄组的不变性。此外，与文献中的其他因素结构相比，PTCI 的独特因素结构而非 ADES 是受虐待青年重新体验和回避症状的更好预测指标。