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

Purpose This study assessed the distribution of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and psychosis indicators among a large sample of individuals with a lifetime diagnosis of PTSD. The identification of a psychotic PTSD subtype was also predicted. Method Using data from the National Comorbidity Survey a latent class analysis was conducted on the PTSD symptoms of intrusion, avoidance, and hyperarousal and the psychosis hallucination and delusion indicators. Results Results indicated four latent classes, two of which had relatively high probabilities of endorsing the hallucination and delusion indicators. These classes were associated with a broad range of traumatic experiences. One particular class had high probabilities of endorsing both the psychosis indicators and the PTSD symptoms and was associated with a broad range of comorbid psychiatric disorders. Conclusion There was a candidate class that met the characteristics expected to be evident in a psychotic PTSD subtype.