Research aim: To provide a detailed analysis of how the most widely used scales for assessing PTSD, anxiety and depression work with refugee populations in Denmark. 

Design: Cohort study from different RCTs conducted at CTP.

Population: 1000 PTSD-diagnosed refugees from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and the former Yugoslavia

Methods: The data for the current project consist primarily of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist for anxiety and depression (HSCL-25), and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Responses are collected as part of existing trials at CTP. For the current project, only baseline ratings are utilised. The current study uses Item Response Theory to analyse psychometric properties and cultural differences at the item level.

Primary investigator: Erik Vindbjerg, Msc Psychology, PhD

Supervisors: Ask Elklit, Msc Psychology, PhD, Erik Lykke Mortensen, Msc Psychology, PhD, Guido Makransky, Msc Psychology, PhD, Jessica Carlsson, MD, PhD

Publications

Vindbjerg, E., Mortensen, E. L., Makransky, G., Nielsen, T., & Carlsson, J. (2021). A rasch-based validity study of the HSCL-25. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports, 4.

Vindbjerg, E., Carlsson, J., Mortensen, E. L., Makransky, G., & Nielsen, T. (2020). A Rasch-based validity study of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire. Journal of affective disorders, 277, 697-705.

Vindbjerg, E., Makransky, G., Mortensen, E. L., & Carlsson, J. (2019). Cross-cultural psychometric properties of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 64(1), 39-46.

Vindbjerg, E., Carlsson, J., Mortensen, E. L., Elklit, A., & Makransky, G. (2016). The latent structure of post-traumatic stress disorder among Arabic-speaking refugees receiving psychiatric treatment in Denmark. BMC psychiatry, 16, 1-10.