Assessment of characteristics of intrusive thoughts and their impact on distress among victims of traumatic events

Objective: This study examines the psychometric properties of the Intrusive Thoughts questionnaire (ITQ) and its utility as a predictor of distress am ong trauma victims, Method: Victims of three types of trauma, a motor vehic le accident (N = 115), a hurricane (N = 182), and recovery work after an ai rline disaster (N = 159), completed the ITQ along with the Impact of Event Scale (IES) and the Symptom Checklist-90, Revised (SCL-90-R), at several di fferent time points after their exposure. Results: The ITQ was a reliable a nd valid instrument that was positively related to concurrent measures of d istress as well as a predictor of long-term stress responding. Characterist ics of intrusive thoughts reflecting the extent to which they were unwanted or controllable, were identified as key determinants of distress. Conclusi ons: The ITQ is a useful adjunct to current measures of intrusions, allowin g for greater specificity in analyses of responses to trauma. Evaluation of characteristics of intrusions indicated that frequency of intrusions was n either the only predictor of distress nor the best predictor of trauma-rela ted outcomes.