Perceived danger during deployment: A Rasch validation of an instrument assessing perceived combat exposure and the witnessing of combat consequences in a war zone

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Standard

Perceived danger during deployment : A Rasch validation of an instrument assessing perceived combat exposure and the witnessing of combat consequences in a war zone. / Karstoft, Karen-Inge; Nielsen, Tine; Nielsen, Anni Brit Sternhagen.

In: European Journal of Psychotraumatology, Vol. 9, No. 1, 1487224, 09.07.2018.

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Harvard

Karstoft, K-I, Nielsen, T & Nielsen, ABS 2018, 'Perceived danger during deployment: A Rasch validation of an instrument assessing perceived combat exposure and the witnessing of combat consequences in a war zone', European Journal of Psychotraumatology, vol. 9, no. 1, 1487224. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2018.1487224

APA

Karstoft, K-I., Nielsen, T., & Nielsen, A. B. S. (2018). Perceived danger during deployment: A Rasch validation of an instrument assessing perceived combat exposure and the witnessing of combat consequences in a war zone. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 9(1), [1487224]. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2018.1487224

Vancouver

Karstoft K-I, Nielsen T, Nielsen ABS. Perceived danger during deployment: A Rasch validation of an instrument assessing perceived combat exposure and the witnessing of combat consequences in a war zone. European Journal of Psychotraumatology. 2018 Jul 9;9(1). 1487224. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2018.1487224

Author

Karstoft, Karen-Inge ; Nielsen, Tine ; Nielsen, Anni Brit Sternhagen. / Perceived danger during deployment : A Rasch validation of an instrument assessing perceived combat exposure and the witnessing of combat consequences in a war zone. In: European Journal of Psychotraumatology. 2018 ; Vol. 9, No. 1.

Bibtex

@article{89c4cca44cf2447e8ba7af300cac3e90,
title = "Perceived danger during deployment: A Rasch validation of an instrument assessing perceived combat exposure and the witnessing of combat consequences in a war zone",
abstract = "The potential stressors associated with military deployment are related to an increased risk of adverse mental health outcomes. Perceived exposure to combat has been found to be proportional to the severity of post-deployment posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, other perceived adversities during deployment, such as witnessing danger, distress, and hardship in the war zone, have been less systematically studied, but might play an equally substantial role for post-deployment mental health. The development and validation of scales that assess these related constructs are needed to distinguish their contribution to post-deployment risk of PTSD. We evaluated the validity of 10 items measuring perceived danger distributed to all deployed personnel with the Danish Defense since 1998. We hypothesize two scales: Exposure to Danger and Combat (EDC) and Witnessing Consequences of War (WCW). Two military cohorts deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 (Cohort 1, N = 276) and 2013 (Cohort 2, N = 273) were included. Questionnaire data was collected six months after homecoming, including deployment experiences and post-deployment reactions. We tested the construct validity of the 10 items of perceived danger with Rasch models (RM), focusing specifically on presence of subscales, and differential item functioning (DIF) across cohorts. We confirmed the existence of two separate subscales, EDCS and WCWS, both with adequate reliability. None of the subscales fitted a pure RM, but adequate fit was found for graphical log-linear RMs with evidence of DIF for the ECDS. However, adjusting the score to account for DIF had practically no effect, suggesting that the total non-adjusted mean score can be used in future cohort comparisons. Perceived exposure to combat and danger and witnessing consequences of war are related, but essentially distinct, concepts, each providing unique information about deployment adversities. Future studies should evaluate their shared and unique contribution to the risk of post-deployment PTSD.",
keywords = "Faculty of Social Sciences, Item response theory (IRT), Rasch model (RM), combat stress exposure, military personnel, psychometrics, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), military",
author = "Karen-Inge Karstoft and Tine Nielsen and Nielsen, {Anni Brit Sternhagen}",
year = "2018",
month = jul,
day = "9",
doi = "10.1080/20008198.2018.1487224",
language = "English",
volume = "9",
journal = "European Journal of Psychotraumatology",
issn = "2000-8198",
publisher = "Co-Action Publishing",
number = "1",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Perceived danger during deployment

T2 - A Rasch validation of an instrument assessing perceived combat exposure and the witnessing of combat consequences in a war zone

AU - Karstoft, Karen-Inge

AU - Nielsen, Tine

AU - Nielsen, Anni Brit Sternhagen

PY - 2018/7/9

Y1 - 2018/7/9

N2 - The potential stressors associated with military deployment are related to an increased risk of adverse mental health outcomes. Perceived exposure to combat has been found to be proportional to the severity of post-deployment posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, other perceived adversities during deployment, such as witnessing danger, distress, and hardship in the war zone, have been less systematically studied, but might play an equally substantial role for post-deployment mental health. The development and validation of scales that assess these related constructs are needed to distinguish their contribution to post-deployment risk of PTSD. We evaluated the validity of 10 items measuring perceived danger distributed to all deployed personnel with the Danish Defense since 1998. We hypothesize two scales: Exposure to Danger and Combat (EDC) and Witnessing Consequences of War (WCW). Two military cohorts deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 (Cohort 1, N = 276) and 2013 (Cohort 2, N = 273) were included. Questionnaire data was collected six months after homecoming, including deployment experiences and post-deployment reactions. We tested the construct validity of the 10 items of perceived danger with Rasch models (RM), focusing specifically on presence of subscales, and differential item functioning (DIF) across cohorts. We confirmed the existence of two separate subscales, EDCS and WCWS, both with adequate reliability. None of the subscales fitted a pure RM, but adequate fit was found for graphical log-linear RMs with evidence of DIF for the ECDS. However, adjusting the score to account for DIF had practically no effect, suggesting that the total non-adjusted mean score can be used in future cohort comparisons. Perceived exposure to combat and danger and witnessing consequences of war are related, but essentially distinct, concepts, each providing unique information about deployment adversities. Future studies should evaluate their shared and unique contribution to the risk of post-deployment PTSD.

AB - The potential stressors associated with military deployment are related to an increased risk of adverse mental health outcomes. Perceived exposure to combat has been found to be proportional to the severity of post-deployment posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, other perceived adversities during deployment, such as witnessing danger, distress, and hardship in the war zone, have been less systematically studied, but might play an equally substantial role for post-deployment mental health. The development and validation of scales that assess these related constructs are needed to distinguish their contribution to post-deployment risk of PTSD. We evaluated the validity of 10 items measuring perceived danger distributed to all deployed personnel with the Danish Defense since 1998. We hypothesize two scales: Exposure to Danger and Combat (EDC) and Witnessing Consequences of War (WCW). Two military cohorts deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 (Cohort 1, N = 276) and 2013 (Cohort 2, N = 273) were included. Questionnaire data was collected six months after homecoming, including deployment experiences and post-deployment reactions. We tested the construct validity of the 10 items of perceived danger with Rasch models (RM), focusing specifically on presence of subscales, and differential item functioning (DIF) across cohorts. We confirmed the existence of two separate subscales, EDCS and WCWS, both with adequate reliability. None of the subscales fitted a pure RM, but adequate fit was found for graphical log-linear RMs with evidence of DIF for the ECDS. However, adjusting the score to account for DIF had practically no effect, suggesting that the total non-adjusted mean score can be used in future cohort comparisons. Perceived exposure to combat and danger and witnessing consequences of war are related, but essentially distinct, concepts, each providing unique information about deployment adversities. Future studies should evaluate their shared and unique contribution to the risk of post-deployment PTSD.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - Item response theory (IRT)

KW - Rasch model (RM)

KW - combat stress exposure

KW - military personnel

KW - psychometrics

KW - post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

KW - military

U2 - 10.1080/20008198.2018.1487224

DO - 10.1080/20008198.2018.1487224

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 30013725

VL - 9

JO - European Journal of Psychotraumatology

JF - European Journal of Psychotraumatology

SN - 2000-8198

IS - 1

M1 - 1487224

ER -

ID: 199348055