Introduction. Longitudinal prospective studies are needed to identify risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms 15 years after trauma, since cross-sectional findings do not...Show moreIntroduction. Longitudinal prospective studies are needed to identify risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms 15 years after trauma, since cross-sectional findings do not inform how a possible pattern change as the clinical condition extends. Recently, thyroid hormones were in the top fifteen most relevant biochemical predictors for PTSD symptom trajectory within one year after trauma. Moreover, peritraumatic distress (PD) is highly associated with PTSD symptom severity. Nevertheless, most studies did not investigate the course of PTSD 15 years after a serious injury. This study hypothesized that higher thyroid functioning acutely after trauma, and higher PD predicted higher 15-year PTSD symptom severity, while the thyroid functioning mediated the relation between PD and 15-year PTSD symptom severity. Methods. This longitudinal prospective study examined 452 serious injury survivors. Blood samples were obtained acutely after trauma, and PD 23 days after trauma. PTSD symptom severity was assessed 15 years after trauma (M = 2.77, SD = 4.64), with the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale. Results. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that 15-year PTSD symptom severity was not predicted by the thyroid hormones and PD, and the thyroid hormones did not mediate the relation between PD and 15-year PTSD symptom severity. Discussion. Our study showed the importance of predicting 15-year PTSD symptoms, since understanding how and when these symptoms occur could be crucial for treatment and promising for risk identification at an early stage. More longitudinal studies are needed to understand why some people do, and others do not develop 15-year PTSD symptoms.Show less
Background: No valid and reliable instrument exists to assess knowledge, skills, experience and attitudes pertaining to suicide prevention (SP) among healthcare professionals (HCPs) in training....Show moreBackground: No valid and reliable instrument exists to assess knowledge, skills, experience and attitudes pertaining to suicide prevention (SP) among healthcare professionals (HCPs) in training. Aim: This study intended to develop and test the psychometric properties of the Suicide Prevention Skills Inventory (SPSI). Methods: A literature review identified seven subscales and 76 items for the SPSI. Using a cross-sectional design, data was collected in a sample of Dutch undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate healthcare students (N = 439), partaking in the online survey. An Exploratory Factor Analysis was performed on the continuous scales; inter-item, item-total and Pearson correlations were calculated for the binary scales. Cronbach’s alphas were calculated for all subscales and the overall instrument. Results: A four subscale solution (Provider Competencies, Moral Attitude, Experience Making Contact and Personal Interest in SP Skills Training) with 35 items showed the most optimal fit, with items loading >.40 on factors and good inter-item and item-total correlations. Reliability for the individual subscales and total scale ranges from good to excellent (α = .72-.90). Due to poor reliability the subscale Factual Knowledge was excluded. Discussion: The four subscale SPSI shows a stable latent structure and good reliability. However, validity of the instrument is only confirmed once results have been replicated in a new and representative sample. Future applications of the SPSI include the assessment of learning effects among HCPs in training and provide insight into the level of SP expertise of graduated HCPs starting their career in the clinical fieldShow less
