Screening for trauma history on an inpatient affective-disorders unit: A pilot study

Psychiatric inpatients (N = 343) admitted to an affective-disorders unit were administered a self-rating Trauma Questionnaire (TQ) to evaluate life history of traumatic experiences. Eighty four percent of the sample identified at least one traumatic-event category (M = 2.72 categories/patient). Symptoms consistent with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were highly prevalent. However only six patients received a chart diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder: Female patients evidenced more PTSD symptoms than males, in contrast to an equal number of event categories identified by the two sexes. Age correlated negatively with number of symptoms endorsed. Implications for trauma screening in affective-disorder patients are discussed.