Trauma Symptom Inventory: Psychometrics and Association With Childhood and Adult Victimization in Clinical Samples

• NCJ Number: 159138
• Journal: Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 10 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1995) Pages: 387-401
• Author(s): J Briere; D M Elliott; K Harris; A Cotman
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 15 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article examines psychometric characteristics of the 100-item Trauma Symptom Inventory (TSI) in a sample of 370 psychiatric inpatients and psychotherapy outpatient men and women.

Abstract

In response to the paucity of standardized, clinically useful measures of posttraumatic symptomatology, Briere (1995) developed the Trauma Symptom Inventory. The 10 clinical scales of the TSI evaluate various forms of symptomatology, each of which are relevant to the psychological assessment of traumatized individuals: anxious arousal, depression, anger/irritability, intrusive experiences, defensive avoidance, dissociation, sexual concerns, dysfunctional sexual behavior, impaired self-reference, and tension reduction behavior. The current study was conducted to provide data on the reliability and construct validity of the TSI clinical scales for clinical subjects and to obtain data on the sequelae of a variety of forms of interpersonal violence, where each type of victimization is evaluated after controlling for demographics and other major forms of victimization. The 10 clinical scales of the TSI had a mean alpha of .87, with alphas ranging from .74 for tension reduction behavior to .90 for both depression and intrusive experiences. A self-reported history of interpersonal trauma in childhood or adulthood was associated with elevations on all TSI scales relative to those who did not report victimization. Post hoc multiple regression analyses showed that client age, sex, inpatient versus outpatient status, childhood sexual and physical abuse, and adult sexual assault were unique predictors of various TSI raw scale scores. Gender interacted with other predictors in several instances; women with sexual assault or physical assault histories scored higher on depression and intrusive experiences, and men battered in a relationship scored higher on sexual concerns and dysfunctional sexual behavior. 4 tables, 2 notes, and 40 references