National Psychotrauma Conference 2025

One of the pressing psychological concerns in the aftermath of the pandemic is the escalation of adjustment disorder cases. However, the assessment of adjustment disorder, particularly among college students, remained understudied. This study intends to address this gap by developing a new measure that: (1) examines the best-fitting adjustment disorder model as evidence of validity, (2) investigates if both frequency of symptom occurrence and intensity of symptom disturbance capture the severity of the disorder and, (3) determines an optimal threshold score for the proposed instrument. Utilizing cross-sectional survey data from 1,673 university students, confirmatory factor analyses showed that the scale is best represented by two factors: preoccupation with the stressor and failure to adapt. Moreover, criterion-related validation results reflected significant positive relationships to depression and anxiety and confirmed the utilization of both response formats (i.e., frequency of occurrence and intensity of disturbance). Finally, an optimal cut-off score of 32.29 for the newly devised instrument is recommended as an indicator of adjustment disorder provisional diagnosis. This study provides psychometric evidence of the utilization of the adjustment disorder symptom severity inventory scale. Additionally, the findings, impliedly, contribute to the limited literature on the assessment of adjustment disorder and assist clinicians and mental health practitioners in the development of more nuanced interventions addressing the symptom groups of adjustment disorder and its severity indices.
Keywords: ADSSI, adjustment disorder, college students, post-COVID

Identifying the optimal factor structure of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has recently been reinvigorated in literature due to the substantial changes to its diagnostic criteria in the fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Currently, six models of PTSD are supported in literature, but there is no consensus on the best-fitting factor structure. Additionally, the extant literature examining the relationship between PTSD symptom grouping and anxiety sensitivity (AS) in the latent level has been scarce. The present study’s objectives are two-fold: first, we aimed to identify the best-fitted model of PTSD by comparing the six empirically supported models, and; second, we examined the relationship between the best-fitting model with AS. Utilizing a sample of 476 combat-exposed soldiers, the results suggest that both the anhedonia and hybrid models provide the best fit to the data, with the anhedonia model achieving slightly better fit indices. Further, the examination on the influence of AS to PTSD reveal that while there is a pattern of decreasing factor loadings and factor correlations when accounting for AS, the changes are not significant to alter the PTSD symptom structure. Based on these results, our findings suggest further investigation on the possible mediating or moderating mechanisms by which AS may influence PTSD.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19, as a global health threat, prompted countries to impose measures to limit its transmission. One of the common mental disorders currently being investigated as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic is major depression. However, there is a disconcerting issue in assessing depression amid the pandemic. It has been noted that most studies investigating depression did not examine the psychometric soundness of their scales in the context of the pandemic. To address this gap, this study intends to examine the validity, reliability, and utility of Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) as a measure of COVID-19 pandemic-related depression.
METHODS: Utilizing 3032 teachers, this study established evidence of validity. To demonstrate construct-related validity, we examined and identified the best-fitting model from the five a-priori models. To evince criterion-related validity, the major depressive disorder (MDD) best-fitting model was correlated with mental health outcomes. The reliability of PHQ-9 was substantiated by analyzing internal consistency of the items.
RESULTS: The results show PHQ-9 to be construct-valid as evidenced by excellent fit indices of the two-factor model 2a. The findings confirm this model to best represent MDD symptoms. Criterion-related evidence of validity was demonstrated with the significant relationship of model 2a’s two factors (somatic and non-somatic factors) to psychological distress, somatic symptoms, and depression. The scale is reliable as established by higher internal consistency coefficients.
CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the findings suggest that PHQ-9 is a valid, reliable, and utilizable scale in assessing depression symptoms in the context of a pandemic or health-related epidemic. Additionally, the data supporting model 2a could be a basis in developing a more nuanced intervention addressing the MDD’s two-factor symptom structure.
Key words: COVID-19; major depression; factor structure; Filipino teachers

The recent changes in the nosology of Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD) have called for its examination as an independent disorder. However, there are contradictory findings on its symptom structure. This study aims to investigate the latent factor structure of SSD by comparing two models and to examine the relationship between the best-fitting model with depression and anxiety. Lastly, to examine whether the best-fitting SSD model exhibited invariance between genders. The sample (N = 843) consisted of Typhoon survivors, mostly females (70.9%), whose ages ranged from 18-73 years old (M= 31.2, SD=11.6). Patient Health Questionnaire- 9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Symptom Severity Inventory (GASSI), and SSD-12 were distributed to organizations governing relocation sites. Results revealed that the 3-factor SSD model achieved a better fit than the one-factor model. Depression and anxiety significantly contributed to the factor loadings of SSD, however, there are disorder-specific symptoms. Results further showed that there is configural, metric and scalar invariance across gender. Findings lend evidence to the claim that SSD is an independent entity and should be included in the DSM-5 nomenclature as a separate disorder. The differentiation of core, disorder-specific symptoms from common symptoms of anxiety and depression has important assessment and treatment implications.