Psychometric properties of the PTSD checklist for DSM-5 in treatment-seeking Black veterans.

Objective: Despite widespread use of the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Checklist for -fifth edition (PCL-5) across various trauma-exposed populations, little is known about the psychometric properties of the instrument in certain ethnic minority groups with increased risk of trauma exposure, including Black veterans. To this end, the current study examined the internal consistency of the PCL-5, convergent validity using correlations between the PCL-5 and another measure of PTSD, and discriminant validity using correlations between the PCL-5 and other commonly occurring psychiatric symptoms, including depression as well as alcohol and substance misuse.

Method: The sample was composed of 327 Black veterans (84% male, = 51.

Differences in Anxiety Sensitivity Among Black and White Veterans.

Black Americans are at greater risk for more severe and enduring consequences of anxiety disorders than White Americans, highlighting the need to identify malleable risk and maintenance factors. The current study aimed to examine racial differences in anxiety sensitivity and anxiety sensitivity facets between Black and White veterans (N = 285; 58% Black, 77% Male; Mage = 43.51, SD = 11.

The effects of a prolonged exposure workshop with and without consultation on provider and patient outcomes: a randomized implementation trial.

Background: Prolonged exposure therapy (PE) is an evidence-based treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that is underutilized in the military health system. Standard workshop training in PE may not be sufficient to alter provider behavior, but post-workshop consultation requires significant resources. Therefore, it is important to determine the incremental utility of post-workshop consultation.

Ethnoracial differences in anxiety sensitivity: examining the validity of competing anxiety sensitivity index subscales.

Despite the increasing number of Americans who are considered to be a part of an ethnoracial minority group, there have been few investigations of the cross-cultural validity of measures of psychopathology. The limited existing literature suggests potential differences between African American (AA) and European American (EA) individuals with respect to the utility of self-report measures, including anxiety sensitivity. Physical, mental, and social domains of anxiety sensitivity are measured using subscales derived from a 3-factor model reported in EA samples despite evidence suggesting that anxiety sensitivity in AA samples is characterized by more distinct physical concerns.

Anxiety psychopathology in African American adults: literature review and development of an empirically informed sociocultural model.

In this review, the extant literature concerning anxiety psychopathology in African American adults is summarized to develop a testable, explanatory framework with implications for future research. The model was designed to account for purported lower rates of anxiety disorders in African Americans compared to European Americans, along with other ethnoracial differences reported in the literature. Three specific beliefs or attitudes related to the sociocultural experience of African Americans are identified: awareness of racism, stigma of mental illness, and salience of physical illnesses.

Interpreting facial expressions: the influence of social anxiety, emotional valence, and race.

Social anxiety is posited to be linked to interpersonal skills deficits, including accurate interpretation of emotional social cues, such as facial expressions. However, empirical support for an interpersonal skills deficit model of social anxiety is lacking. Studies of information processes indicate that socially anxious individuals may be more accurate at identifying threatening facial expressions in particular.