The WBTH scale is a 95-item self-report inventory. The questions
in this scale exactly parallel the questions in the Childhood PTSD
Interview and can be used as a complement to the interview. It
includes 63 DSM-IV symptom items (3-6 per symptom) and 32
associated symptom items (2-5 questions per associated symptom).
Items are rated on a 3-point frequency scale (“Never”,
“Some”, “Lots”). The WBTH yields a
categorical diagnosis of PTSD as well as a continuous severity
score (a scoring system template is provided with the scale). It
has a third-grade reading level and includes a parent report
version. It is appropriate for use in either a research or clinical
setting.
Sample Items
Was the bad thing scary?
Does it bother you when things make you think of the bad
thing?
Are you good at hiding your feelings since the bad thing
happened?
References
Fletcher, K. (1996). Psychometric review of the When Bad
Things Happen Scale (WBTH). In B. H. Stamm (Ed.), Measurement of
stress, trauma, and adaptation (pp. 435-437). Lutherville, MD:
Sidran Press.
Additional Reviews
Nader, K. O. (2004). Assessing traumatic experiences in
children and adolescents: Self-reports of DSM PTSD Criteria B-D
symptoms. In J. Wilson & T. Keane (Eds.), Assessing
psychological trauma and PTSD, 2nd ed. (pp. 513-537). New York:
Guilford Press.
To obtain scale, contact
Kenneth E. Fletcher, PhD
Department of Psychiatry
University of Massachusetts Medical Center
Psychiatry Department
55 Lake Avenue North
Worcester, MA 01655-0001
(508) 856-3329
Email:
Kenneth.Fletcher@umassmed.edu
