A LONGITUDINAL EVALUATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI SCALE FOR COMBAT-RELATEDPTSD IN DETECTING WAR-RELATED STRESS SYMPTOMATOLOGY

The long-term psychological effects of war-related stress were assesse d 3 years after the Persian Gulf War with the Mississippi Scale for De sert Storm War Zone Personnel (M-PTSD-DS), developed from the Mississi ppi Scale for Combat-Related PTSD (M-PTSD; Keane, Caddell. Et Taylor. 1988). The M-PTSD-DS scores of 30 Marine reservists were compared with the number of DSM-III-R PTSD criteria each met at two points in time. initially at 3 months after the Gulf War and again 3 years later. Fin dings support the construct validity (sensitivity) oi this scale in th e immediate and longitudinal measurement of relatively nonpathological degrees of war-related stress in reservists not involved in direct fi ghting. Initial level of PTSD symptomatology upon returning from a war zone was predictive of M-PTSD-DS scores 3 years later. This scale was effective in detecting varying degrees of war-related stress in this self-selected group of reservists and warrants further study. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.