Juesta M. Caddell

Clinical evaluation of a measure to assess combat exposure.

The Combat Exposure Scale (CES) was constructed as an attempt to measure the subjective report of wartime stressors experienced by combatants

Implosive (flooding) therapy reduces symptoms of PTSD in Vietnam combat veterans

In a randomized clinical trial, 24 Vietnam veterans with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were randomly assigned either to a group receiving 14 to 16 sessions of implosive (flooding) therapy or to a waiting-list control. Standard psychometrics were administered before, following, and six months after treatment, and therapist ratings of symptomotology were concurrently obtained in personal interviews. When compared to the waiting-list control, those subjects receiving implosive therapy showed significant improvement across many of the psychometric measures and the therapist ratings of psychopathology. Specific changes in the re-experiencing dimension of PTSD, anxiety, and depression were notable, while treatment did not seem to influence the numbing and social avoidance aspects of PTSD. The results are discussed with respect to the importance of systematic exposure to traumatic memories, as one component of comprehensive treatment of combat-related PTSD, and the need for skills training interventions directed at improving social competence in interpersonal interactions.

Post‐traumatic stress disorder in Vietnam veterans: An experimental validation of the DSM‐III diagnostic criteria

The DSM-III criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were derived clinically and have been substantiated in the literature only by self-report data while evaluation of these same criteria with more objective measures has been overlooked. This study provided a laboratory-based evaluation of the DSM-III criterion symptoms of PTSD with six symptoms of the disorder which were operationalized as cognitive, behavioral and psychophysiological measures. The responses of 16 Vietnam combat veterans who met the criteria for a PTSD diagnosis were compared to those of 16 well-adjusted combat veterans without PTSD. Dependent measures were obtained twice, following exposure to first control and then combat auditory stimuli. Results showed that five of the six measures were effective in differentiating the two combat veteran groups. These findings provided experimental support and construct validity for five DSM-III criteria of PTSD. The implications of these findings for the DSM-III-R PTSD diagnostic criteria are discussed.