Examining the performance of the International Trauma Questionnaire with clinical checks in a multinational European sample

Abstract

Background The International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ) is a widely used self-report measure of PTSD and Complex PTSD (CPTSD). ‘Clinical checks’ – brief follow up questions verifying respondent comprehension of the symptom item – have recently been developed for the ITQ to reduce false-positive diagnostic cases. This study tested whether the ITQ with clinical checks generates psychometrically sound scores and adds clinically relevant information to standard symptom assessment. Methods Data ( N = 5,070) were collected using quota-based sampling procedures from adults living in five European countries (Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia). Results Overall, 82.2% of respondents were trauma-exposed, and 19.2% met diagnostic requirements for PTSD (7.2%) or CPTSD (12.0%) on the standard ITQ. With clinical checks, these fell to 9.8% overall, 3.9% for PTSD, and 5.9% for CPTSD. The ITQ with clinical checks produced scores with excellent factorial validity, internal reliability, and latent classes corresponding to PTSD and CPTSD. Associations with clinically relevant variables including suicidality and anxiety-depression symptoms were stronger with than without the clinical checks. Females, those with more extensive trauma histories, and higher concurrent anxiety-depression symptoms were more likely to retain than lose their diagnostic status when the clinical checks were used. Conclusions The ITQ with clinical checks generated scores with excellent psychometric properties, captured additional clinically relevant information, and yielded more plausible prevalence estimates compared to the standard ITQ scores. The potential value and limitations of using clinical checks in self-report questionnaires are discussed.