Diagnosing posttraumatic stress disorder in multicultural patients in a Stockholm psychiatric clinic

Our objective was to test the assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and associated symptoms in a multicultural immigrant/refugee population at a psychiatric out-patient clinic. The pilot study included volunteer patients who were randomly assigned to an intervention group (N = 33), who received SCID diagnosis and a battery of life event questionnaires, and a referent group (N = 30), who received the standard diagnostic program. All were followed-up for 1 year. Forty percent of the intervention group, but none in the referent group, were judged to have PTSD. In the intervention group, positive significant correlations were found between HTQ and HSCL-25 and SCID, Axis I PTSD. Experience of trauma influenced the ill-health in the psychometric indices, and the psychometric indices correlated negatively with present and optimal functioning. A targeted trauma approach toward multicultural psychiatric patients using a multidisciplinary team and validated psychometric tools provided sensitive and accurate diagnostic information for this group.