Factor Structure, Reliability, and Validity of the Daily Self-Report Measure for Trauma-Related Sequelae (DSR-TRS)

ABSTRACT

The structure and psychometrics of daily self-report measures have only rarely been empirically tested. We developed the Daily Self-Report of Trauma-Related Sequelae (DSR-TRS), comprised of items assessing, in the past day: (1) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms: (2) symptoms of affective-, behavioral-, relational-, somatic-, dissociative-, and self-dysregulation; and (3) stressors, mood, coping strategies, and drug and alcohol use. Psychometric analyses were conducted with data from 141 women who participated in a randomized clinical trial of two present-centered therapies for PTSD or a wait-list condition and completed at least one DSR-TRS during two 30-day periods at baseline and posttreatment/wait-list. Five DSR-TRS subscales were created based on a series of exploratory, confirmatory, and multilevel factor analyses: Positive Affect, Negative Affect, Self-Regulation, Dysregulation, and PTSD symptoms. DSR-TRS subscales had acceptable within-person and between-person reliability. Convergent and discriminant validity were supported at baseline and posttest in relation to questionnaire and interview assessment measures. Implications for research on daily self-report measures such as the DSR-TRS with trauma survivors are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Daily self-report
• psychometrics
• validity
• reliability
• factor structure
• PTSD
• assessment
• daily self-report
• posttraumatic stress disorder

Acknowledgments

The study was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ 2004-91861-CTR-IJ, J. Ford, Principal Investigator). The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the research staff who provided oversight for or directly conducted study procedures (Dr. Khamis Abu-Hassaballah; Ms. Joan Levine, Ms. Jennifer Vendetti, and Ms. Kimberly Ramaglia) and the women who participated in the study.

Declaration of interest

Julian Ford is co-owner of Advanced Trauma Solutions, Inc., the sole licensed distributor of the TARGET program copyrighted by the University of Connecticut.

Supplemental data

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Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute of Justice [NIJ 2004-91861-CTR-IJ].