The concurrent criterion-related validity of the Structured Interview for Disorders of Extreme Stress (SIDES-SR) was examined in a cross-sectional study of 719 secondary school students attending a high school in Durban, South Africa. For purposes of analysis, exposure to complex developmental trauma was defined as exposure to either chronic (>1 month) and/or multiple incidents (5+ types) of interpersonal victimisation prior to the age of 18 years. A series of discriminant analyses indicated that 12 of the 45 items on the SIDES-SR (27%) did not significantly discriminate individuals who had been exposed to complex developmental trauma from those who had not, with the removal of these 12 items from the scale having no significant impact on estimates of the concurrent validity, sensitivity, or specificity of the SIDES-SR. These findings suggest that the SIDES-SR may be characterised by some degree of construct over-representation when applied to South African samples, with further research being indicated in order to not only replicate the present findings but also address the issue of construct under-representation in the South African context.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
2.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
3.
BarbarinO. A.RichterL. (2001). Economic status, community danger, and psychological problems among South African children. Childhood, 8, 133–155.
4.
BarbarinO. A.RichterL.deWetT. (2000). Exposure to violence, coping resources, and psychological adjustment of South African children. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 71, 16–25.
5.
BriereJ.SpinazzolaJ. (2009). Assessment of the sequelae of complex trauma: Evidence-based measures. In CourtoisC. A.FordJ. D. (Eds.), Treating complex traumatic stress disorder: An evidence-based guide (pp. 104–123). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
6.
ClausenA. H.CrittendenP. M. (1991). Physical and psychological maltreatment: Relations among types of maltreatment. Child Abuse & Neglect, 15, 5–18.
7.
CloitreM.StolbachB. C.HermanJ. L.van der KolkB.PynoosR.WangJ.PetkovaE. (2009). A developmental approach to complex PTSD: Childhood and adult cumulative trauma as predictors of symptom complexity. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 22, 399–408.
8.
CollingsS. J. E.ValjeeS. R.PenningS. L. (in press). Development and preliminary validation of a screen for interpersonal childhood trauma experiences among school-going youth in Durban, South Africa. Journal of Child & Adolescent Mental Health.
9.
CourtoisC. A.FordJ. D. (2009). Treating complex traumatic stress disorders: An evidence-based guide. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
10.
D’AndreaW.FordJ.StolbachB.SpinazzolaJ.van der KolkB. A. (2012). Understanding interpersonal trauma in children: Why we need a developmentally appropriate diagnosis. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 82, 187–200.
11.
de JongJ. T. V. M.KomproeI. H.SpinazzolaJ.van der KolkB. A.Van OmmerenM. H. (2005). DESNOS in three postconflict settings: Assessing cross-cultural construct equivalence. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 18, 13–21.
12.
EnsinkK.RobertsonB. A.ZissisC.LegerP. (1997). Post-traumatic stress disorder in children exposed to violence. South African Medical Journal, 87, 1526–1530.
13.
FinkelhorD.OrmrodR. K.TurnerH. A. (2007). Poly-victimization: A neglected component in childhood victimization. Child Abuse & Neglect, 31, 7–26.
14.
FinkelhorD.OrmrodR. K.TurnerH. A. (2009). Lifetime assessment of poly-victimization in a national sample of children and youth. Child Abuse & Neglect, 33, 403–419.
15.
FordJ. D.CourtoisC. A. (2009). Defining and understanding complex trauma and complex traumatic stress disorders. In CourtoisC. A.FordJ. D. (Eds.), Treating complex traumatic stress disorder: An evidence-based guide (pp. 13–30). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
16.
FosterJ. D.KupermincG. P.PriceA. W. (2004). Gender differences in posttraumatic stress and related symptoms among inner-city minority youth exposed to community violence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 33, 59–69.
17.
GuptaJ. G.SilvermanJ. G.HemewayD.Acevedo-GarciaD.SteinD. J.WilliamsD. R. (2008). Physical violence against intimate partners and related exposure to violence among South African men. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 9, 535–541.
18.
HermanJ. (2012). CPTSD is a distinct entity: Comment on Risick et al. (2012). Journal of Traumatic Stress, 25, 256–257.
19.
HermanJ. L. (1992a). Complex PTSD: A syndrome in survivors of prolonged and repeated trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 5, 377–391.
20.
HermanJ. L. (1992b). Trauma and recovery: From domestic abuse to political terror. London, England: Basic Books.
21.
HermanJ. L. (2009). Foreword. In CourtoisC. A.FordJ. D. (Eds.), Treating complex traumatic stress disorder: An evidence based guide (pp. xiii–xvii). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
22.
NishinaA.JuvonenJ. (2005). Daily reports of witnessing and experiencing peer harassment in middle school. Child Development, 76, 435–450.
23.
PelcovitzD.van der KolkB.RothS.MandelF.KaplanS.ResickP. (1997). Development of a criteria set and a structured interview for disorders of extreme stress (SIDES-R). Journal of Traumatic Stress, 10, 3–16.
24.
ResickP. A.BovinM. J.CallowayA. L.DickA. M.KingM. W.WolfE. J. (2012). A critical evaluation of the complex PTSD literature: Implications for DSM-5. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 25, 241–251.
25.
RothS.NewmanE.PelcovitzD.van der KolkB.MandelF. S. (1997). Complex PTSD in victims exposed to sexual and physical abuse: Results from the DSM-IV field trial for posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 10, 539–555.
26.
ScoboriaA.FordJ.LinH.FrismanL. (2008). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis of the structured interview for disorders of extreme stress. Assessment, 15, 404–425.
27.
SeedatM.Van NiekerkA.JewkesR.SufflaS.RateleK. (2009). Violence and injuries in South Africa: Prioritising an agenda for prevention. Lancet, 374, 1011–1022.
28.
SeedatS.NymaiC.NjengaF. M.VythilingumB.SteinD. J. (2004). Trauma exposure and post-traumatic stress symptoms in urban African schools. British Journal of Psychiatry, 184, 169–175.
29.
SeedatS.van NoodE.VythilingumB.SteinD. J.KaminerD. (2000). School survey of exposure to violence and posttraumatic stress symptoms in adolescents. Southern African Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 12, 38–44.
30.
TerrL. C. (1991). Childhood trauma: An outline and overview. American Journal of Psychiatry, 148, 10–20.
31.
van der KolkB. A. (2005). Developmental trauma disorder: Towards a rational diagnosis for children with complex trauma histories. Psychiatric Annals, 35, 401–408.
32.
van der KolkB. A.CicchettiD.CloitreM.D’AndreaW.FordJ. D.LiebermanA. F.. . . TeicherM. (2009, February2). Proposal to include a developmental trauma disorder diagnosis for children and adolescents in DSM-V. Retrieved from http://www.traumacenter.org/announcements/DTD_papers_Oct_09.pdf
33.
van der KolkB. A.PelcovitzD.RothS.MandelF. S.McFarlaneA.HermanJ. (1996). Dissociation, somatization, and affect dysregulation: The complexity of adaptation to trauma. American Journal of Psychiatry, 153, 83–93.
34.
van der KolkB. A.RothS.PelcovitzD.SundayS.SpinazzolaJ. (2005). Disorders of extreme stress: The empirical foundation of complex adaptation to trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 18, 389–399.
35.
van RooyenK.NqweniZ. C. (2012). Culture and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): A proposed conceptual framework. South African Journal of Psychology, 42, 51–60.
36.
WardC. L.FlisherA. J.ZissisM.MullerM.LombardC. (2001). Exposure to violence and its relationship to psychopathology in adolescents. Injury Prevention, 7, 297–301.
37.
WeineS. M.BeckerD. F.VojvodaD.HodzicE.SawyerM.HymanL.. . . McGlashenT. H. (1998). Individual changes after genocide in Bosnian survivors of ‘ethnic cleansing’: Assessing personality dysfunction. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 11, 147–153.
38.
WeissD. S. (2012). Introduction to the special feature on complex PTSD. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 25, 239–240.
39.
World Health Organization. (1992). The ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioral disorders: Clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines. Geneva, Switzerland: Author.
40.
ZlotnickC.PearlsteinT. (1997). Validation of the structured interview for disorders of extreme stress. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 38, 243–247.
