Citation

de Fouchier C, Blanchet A, Hopkins W, Bui E, Ait-Aoudia M, Jehel L. Eur. J. Psychotraumatol. 2012; 3(online): 19225.

Affiliation

Centre du Psychotrauma de l'Institut de Victimologie, Paris, France ; Laboratoire de Psychopathologie et Neuropsychologie (EA 2027), Université Paris 8, Saint-Denis, France.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, The Author(s), Publisher Co-action Publishing)

DOI

10.3402/ejpt.v3i0.19225

PMID

23233870

PMCID

PMC3517723

Abstract

BACKGROUND: To date no validated instrument in the French language exists to screen for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in survivors of torture and organized violence. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to adapt and validate the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) to this population. METHOD: The adapted version was administered to 52 French-speaking torture survivors, originally from sub-Saharan African countries, receiving psychological treatment in specialized treatment centers. A structured clinical interview for DSM was also conducted in order to assess if they met criteria for PTSD. RESULTS: Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the HTQ Part 4 was adequate (0.95). Criterion validity was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis that generated good classification accuracy for PTSD (0.83). At the original cut-off score of 2.5, the HTQ demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity (0.87 and 0.73, respectively). CONCLUSION: Results support the reliability and validity of the French version of the HTQ.

Language: en