Abstract
The diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were consensually derived from the expert opinions of a small group of DSM-III-R Task Force and advisory committee members. In this study, 448 psychiatrists and psychologists were surveyed to assess their opinions of the criteria they utilize to assign a diagnosis of PTSD to veterans of war. The various DSM-III-R criteria for PTSD were perceived by clinicians as being differentially useful in making diagnostic judgments. Evidence of exposure to traumatic stress and symptoms of reexperiencing the trauma were consistently rated as more influential than criteria of avoidance/numbing and increased arousal. Moreover, symptoms that are directly ascribed to the traumatic event were rated more influential than those not directly referenced to the traumatic experience. Clinicians report they utilize supplemental information that extends beyond the DSM-III-R criteria to diagnose PTSD, and that this information is as important as many official DSM-III-R symptom criteria.
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