- Title
- Isolation, self-blame and perceived invalidation in aid personnel: identifying humanitarian-specific distress using the PostAID/Q
- Creator
- McCormack, Lynne; Douglas, Heather; Joseph, Stephen
- Relation
- Journal of International Humanitarian Action Vol. 6, Issue 1, no. 8
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s41018-021-00094-8
- Publisher
- Springer
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2021
- Description
- Objective: Humanitarian-specific psychological distress following deployment can elude detection using contemporary measures of trauma-related stress. This study assesses the unidimensional structure and convergent validity of the Post-deployment Altruistic Identity Disruption Questionnaire (PostAID/Q), an 18-item questionnaire underpinned by the construct Altruistic Identity/Disruption (AI/AID). Method: Humanitarian aid personnel (N=108) completed an online web survey, inclusive of the Moral Injury Questionnaire (MIQ), Posttraumatic Distress Disorder Checklist (PCL-5), Psychological Well-Being Posttraumatic Changes Questionnaire (PWB-PTCQ) and Social Provisions Scale (SPS). Results: A confirmatory factor analysis suggested a single factor structure providing further support for the conception of AI/AID as a unidimensional construct. Convergent validity was demonstrated through (1) utility for predicting a posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis assessed by the PCL-5, and (2) moral injury assessed by the MIQ. The PostAID/Q was further moderately and negatively associated with the availability of social support (assessed by the SPS) and lower self-reports of psychological well-being post trauma (assessed by the PWB-PCTQ). Finally, the PostAID/Q demonstrated evidence of incremental validity in predicting humanitarian specific psychological distress over and above the PCL-5. Specifically, the PostAID/Q predicted increased moral injury on the MIQ, and decreased psychological well-being post trauma. Conclusions: The PostAID/Q can assist in identifying humanitarian specific psychological responses post deployment guiding support for personnel, over and above more traditional measures of posttraumatic stress.
- Subject
- PostAID/Q; Altruistic Identity/Disruption (AI/AID); undimensional structure; convergent and incremental validity; humanitarian aid personnel
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1473499
- Identifier
- uon:49035
- Identifier
- ISSN:2364-3412
- Rights
- x
- Language
- eng
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