assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder-related functional impairment: a review

This article and any supplementary material should be cited as follows: Rodriguez P, Holowka DW, Marx BP. Assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder-related functional impairment: A review. J Rehabil Res Dev. 2012;49(5):649–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1682/JRRD.2011.09.0162

Slideshow ProjectDOI:10.1682/JRRD.2011.09.0162JSP

Assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder-related functional

impairment: A review

Paola Rodriguez, PhD; Darren W. Holowka, PhD;

Brian P. Marx, PhD



• Aim– To complement Department of Veterans Affairs

(VA)/Department of Defense (DOD) Clinical Practice Guideline by providing information to guide clinicians in assessment of functional impairment related to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

• Relevance– PTSD is associated with functional impairments

across many psychosocial domains and objective indicators of quality of life.



Methods

• Searched U.S. National Library of Medicine’s PubMed, PsycINFO, and PsycARTICLES databases for articles related to PTSD and functioning.



Results• Searched empirical literature on association

between PTSD and functional impairment. – Common methods and measures for assessing

functional impairment are reviewed.– New measures are introduced.

• Patient self-report and/or clinician rating should be supplemented with collateral data from friends, family members, coworkers, or supervisors for complete picture of current and premorbid functional status.



Conclusions–VA/DOD’s renewed focus on functional impairment

in assessment of stress-related disorders is encouraging. –Functional impairment may be outcome we are

most interested in ameliorating.• Thus, paying specific attention to its assessment is crucial.

assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder-related functional impairment: a review

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