engleski

Assessment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Comorbidity

The symptoms of the lifetime post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and comorbid diagnoses between 502 combat experienced soldiers under expert examination for compesation-related purposes tp confirm or not the diagnosis of PTSD, and 196 soldiers with combat experience without any psychiatric disorder. The two groups were matched in duration of combat experience, time passed between combat experience and the study, age, marital status, and education. PTSD was diagnosed by psychiatrists with a structured clinical interview, according to the research version of the International Classification of disorders criteria (ICD-X), and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders (DSM-IV). The psychologist applied the Mississipi scale for combat-related PTSD, Watsons criteria for PTSD, the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-version 201, and the Trauma Questionnaire. Also, a very detailed heteroanamnestic questionnaire was completed by social workers. Medical documentaion and the data from combat services were provided during the expert examination for compesation-related purposes. After psychiatric and psychological assessment, 20% of the combat experienced soldiers under expert examination for compesation-related purposes had lifetime PTSD, 47% had PTSD and comorbid diagnoses, 6% PTSD and enduring personality change, and 5% adjustment disorder. 12% did not fulfill any diagnostic psychiatric criteria, while 10% fulfilled diagnostic criteria for other psychiatric disorder, althought they had previous medical documentation confirming PTSD diagnosis. Correlation coefficient between psychiatric and psychological assessment were significant indicating their complementarity in reaching the final diagnosis. It is necessary to include many different assessment methods in the expert examination for forensic or compesation-related purposes to obtain more objective assessment.

Croatia ; combat related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) ; comorbidity expert examination for compesation-related purposes ; forensic evaluation

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