Psychometric evaluation of Horowitz's impact of event scale: A review

Despite being developed before the formal introduction of posttraumatic str ess disorder(PTSD) within the diagnostic literature, the Impact of Event Sc ale (Horowitz, Wilner; & Alvarez, 1979) remains one of the most widely used self-report measures of posttraumatic stress. This paper presents an overv iew of research using the IES in an attempt to assess its psychometric stat us. It is concluded that the psychometric properties of the IES are satisfa ctory (although not as a PTSD diagnostic measure) and that continued use of the IES as a measure of intrusive and avoidant processes is warranted.