Lifetime DSM-IV PTSD symptoms were assessed using the Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule (AUDADIS) (2,3,32,33), which has good test-retest reliability for PTSD assessment (κ=0.64; (34)). To operationalize DSM-IV Criterion A and assess overall trauma load, respondents were asked if they had experienced 17 types of traumatic events that were life-threatening or could have led to serious injury, including civilian trauma, combat/military activities, terrorism, and the 2006 Second Lebanon War. We created a TE count variable based on number of traumatic events reported (range, 0–12). Respondents were assessed for PTSD symptoms based on the most stressful event experienced, following DSM-IV criteria (7). PTSD symptoms formed a scale with high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = 0.88) and are often considered to measure an underlying latent trait (35). Therefore, similar to other studies (21,23), the PTSD variable reflected the number of symptoms endorsed for DSM-IV criteria B, C, and D (range 0–17).
