The Influence of Service Era: Comparing Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) Scale Scores Within a Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment Clinic (PCT).

Research is mixed on the role of service era in symptom endorsement among Veterans, with differences emerging depending on the instrument evaluated. This study compares Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) scale scores of VA test-takers who served during the Vietnam, Desert Storm, or Post-9/11 service eras. The sample was collected at a VA Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Team. Associations between gender and combat exposure were also examined as covariates. Results suggest that Veterans' self-report on the PAI is influenced by service era, even after accounting for gender and combat exposure during deployment. The largest differences were between Vietnam or Post-9/11 Veterans and those from the Gulf War era. Symptom differences typically varied across scales commonly associated with symptoms of trauma exposure/posttraumatic stress disorder. Implications for the clinical use of, and research with, the PAI and other broadband personality assessments within the VA healthcare system and trauma treatment settings are discussed.

Depression and substance use: The CES-D's utility in predicting treatment outcomes in a longitudinal multi-site study of residential treatment centers.

This investigation utilized a large sample of individuals undergoing substance use treatment to examine the CES-D's structural validity and establish its predictive utility relative to treatment discharge. The sample included 5750 individuals who were receiving substance abuse treatment at 19 different residential treatment facilities. The CES-D was administered to participants over the course of their time in a residential inpatient substance use treatment program. The present study used a split sample method to conduct both exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory (CFA) factor analyses. Results of both the EFA and CFA indicated that the CES-D contains three first order factors measuring negative mood, positive affect, and interpersonal interactions as well as a second-order high score factor which can be used to guide interpretation and symptom monitoring. Individuals receiving residential treatment fell into one of three distinct groups based on their CES-D scores, and that their scores (and subsequent trajectories of scores over time) were differentially related to discharge status. Implications for practice and the utility of the CES-D within substance use populations are discussed.