Citation

Inkelas M, Loux LA, Bourque LB, Widawski M, Nguyen LH. J. Trauma. Stress 2000; 13(1): 149-167.

Affiliation

RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1023/A:1007733217042

PMID

10761180

Abstract

This study examines psychometric properties of the Civilian Mississippi Scale for posttraumatic stress disorder when administered in a community survey of 656 persons following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Internal consistency was lower (Cronbach's alpha = .73) than for previous analyses of civilian and combat versions of the Mississippi Scale. The analysis produced one strong factor composed of 25 items with regular wording and a second, weaker factor composed of 10 items with reversed wording. Internal consistency was higher when the 10 reversed items were removed (Cronbach's alpha = .86); the two factors were negatively correlated. Traumatic experiences and psychological distress measures explained more variance in the 25-item factor than in the 35-item scale. Further studies should focus on content analysis and performance of the reversed items.

Language: en