Table 2.
Trauma Exposure and Conditional Probability of Probable Lifetime PTSDa
| Trauma Type | Any Exposure, Raw Frequency, n (weighted %) | Endorsed as Worst Trauma, Raw Frequency (weighted %) | Probability of Lifetime PTSD, Conditional on Any Exposure, Weighted % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sudden death of close family member or friend | 1,900 (61.3) | 849 (27.5) | 10.2 |
| Seeing someone die suddenly or badly hurt/killed | 1,179 (37.7) | 199 (6.1) | 13.5 |
| A hurricane, flood, earthquake, tornado, or fire | 1,108 (33.9) | 166 (5.1) | 13.5 |
| Life-threatening illness or injury | 952 (30.1) | 434 (13.3) | 10.7 |
| During military service—saw something horrible or was badly scared | 887 (28.6) | 243 (7.7) | 18.0 |
| Attacked with a gun, knife, or weapon | 632 (21.9) | 75 (2.5) | 18.7 |
| A really bad car, boat, train, or airplane accident | 633 (21.2) | 154 (4.9) | 17.2 |
| Suddenly abandoned by spouse, partner, parent, or family | 588 (20.7) | 180 (6.4) | 20.2 |
| Sudden move or loss of home and possessions | 463 (17.3) | 46 (1.9) | 25.3 |
| Hit or kicked hard enough to injure—as a child | 489 (15.7) | 48 (1.4) | 16.7 |
| Hit or kicked hard enough to injure—as an adult | 447 (15.1) | 29 (0.9) | 23.4 |
| A really bad accident at work or home | 382 (12.9) | 70 (2.0) | 24.3 |
| Some other sudden event that made you feel very scared, helpless, or horrified | 301 (10.3) | 119 (4.0) | 29.1 |
| Forced or made to have sexual contact—as a child | 231 (8.0) | 71 (2.1) | 25.9 |
| Forced or made to have sexual contact—as an adult | 109 (3.8) | 19 (0.6) | 37.3 |
| Any combat exposureb | 1,092 (34.3) | … | 12.1 |
| Traumatic combat exposurec | 589 (18.9) | … | 18.8 |
| Extent of combat exposured | |||
| Light | 583 (17.6) | … | 6.6 |
| Light to moderate | 186 (5.8) | … | 14.4 |
| Moderate | 151 (4.3) | … | 7.5 |
| Moderate to heavy | 116 (4.7) | … | 25.3 |
| Heavy | 56 (2.0) | … | 34.9 |
Conditional probabilities of PTSD were calculated based on any exposure to that trauma type.
All trauma types except any combat exposure were assessed with the Trauma History Screen (THS); any combat exposure was assessed with a single-item screen and was not included in the list of possible traumas that could be endorsed as the worst trauma experienced.
Traumatic combat exposure was defined as answering yes to both of 2 items: any combat exposure and “during military service—saw something horrible or was badly scared” on the THS.
Extent of combat exposure was determined by participants’ total score on the Combat Exposure Scale (CES); only participants who endorsed any combat exposure were administered the CES.
Abbreviation: PTSD = posttraumatic stress disorder.