The Dutch 20 Item Centrality of Event Scale : factor structure, psychometric properties, and prospective value

Abstract: Event centrality is defined as the extent to which a memory of a traumatic event forms a reference point for people's identity and attribution of meaning to other experiences in their life. Event centrality is typically measured with the Centrality of Event Scale (CES; Berntsen & Rubin, 2006). The present study's first aim was to investigate the underlying factor structure and construct validity of the Dutch 20-item CES (CES-20) in undergraduates (N = 1,091). The second aim was to test whether the CES-20 could prospectively predict posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms fo... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Vermeulen, Mirjam
Smits, Dirk
Claes, Laurence
Gandhi, Amarendra
Raes, Filip
Krans, Julie
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2022
Schlagwörter: Psychology
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-27061500
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
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Link(s) : https://hdl.handle.net/10067/1879940151162165141

Abstract: Event centrality is defined as the extent to which a memory of a traumatic event forms a reference point for people's identity and attribution of meaning to other experiences in their life. Event centrality is typically measured with the Centrality of Event Scale (CES; Berntsen & Rubin, 2006). The present study's first aim was to investigate the underlying factor structure and construct validity of the Dutch 20-item CES (CES-20) in undergraduates (N = 1,091). The second aim was to test whether the CES-20 could prospectively predict posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms four months later. The data supported a one-factor structure of the CES with a high internal consistency (alpha = .95), which is not in line with the theoretical model of event centrality but aligns with previous empirical research. Furthermore, high construct validity was evidenced by positive and significant relations between the CES and PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, DSM-5 trauma A criterion, and the number of experienced negative life events. Event centrality was not a significant predictor of PTSD symptoms four months later when controlling for PTSD symptoms at time 1, which questions the prospective relation between event centrality and later PTSD symptoms for those events.