Evidence for a psychotic posttraumatic stress disorder subtype based on the National Comorbidity Survey

Purpose This study assessed the distribution of posttraumaticstress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and psychosisindicators among a large sample of individuals with alifetime diagnosis of PTSD. The identification of a psychoticPTSD subtype was also predicted.Method Using data from the National Comorbidity Surveya latent class analysis was conducted on the PTSDsymptoms of intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal andthe psychosis hallucination and delusion indicators.Results Results indicated four latent classes, two ofwhich had relatively high probabilities of endorsing thehallucination and delusion indicators. These classes wereassociated with a broad range of traumatic experiences.One particular class had high probabilities of endorsingboth the psychosis indicators and the PTSD symptoms andwas associated with a broad range of comorbid psychiatricdisorders.Conclusion There was a candidate class that met thecharacteristics expected to be evident in a psychotic PTSDsubtype.