response options (i.e., Yes or No). Participants were asked to select the most distressing event and were subsequently evaluated for symptoms of PTSD. A diagnosis of PTSD was dependent on Criterion A, which required intense fear, helplessness, or horror in association with the most distressing event. Interview data was checked for consistency by a senior editor and entered into a computerized data file. Lifetime psychiatric diagnoses were made by a computer algorithm that analyzed responses to the interview using DSM-IV criteria (American Psychiatric, 2000).
