Validation of a brief measure of posttraumatic stress disorder: The Distressing Event Questionnaire (DEQ)

The Distressing Event Questionnaire (DEQ) is a brief instrument for assessi ng posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) according to criteria provided in D iagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.). The DEQ pos sesses high internal consistency and exhibited satisfactory shea-term tempo ral stability in studies with Vietnam War combat veterans and battered wome n. In a sample of Vietnam War veterans and 4 separate samples of abused wom en (with histories of incest, rape, intimate partner abuse, or prostitution and abuse), the DEQ exhibited very good discriminative validity when judge d against structured interview assessment of PTSD. The DEQ exhibited strong convergent validity with other PTSD measures and other indexes of adjustme nt and also exhibited strong convergent validity as a measure of PTSD acros s ethnic groups in both the veteran sample and the combined women's sample.