Development and Validation of the Safety Behavior Assessment Form-PTSD Scale

Safety behaviors are mental processes and behaviors associated with the onset, maintenance, and treatment of anxiety-related disorders. But these behaviors are understudied in the context of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One reason is the lack of psychometrically valid instruments to assess safety behaviors specific to the diagnosis of PTSD. To address this gap in the literature, we adapted a well-validated general measure of safety behaviors to create a brief 10-item questionnaire for assessing PTSD-specific safety behaviors-the Safety Behavior Assessment Form-PTSD scale (SBAF-PTSD scale). The results of four studies, using both clinical and non-clinical populations, supported the reliability and validity of the SBAF-PTSD scale; the measure demonstrated strong internal consistency, test-retest reliability, inter-item correlations, and convergent and divergent validity across all four studies. It also demonstrated clinical utility as it predicted treatment outcomes for American military veterans diagnosed with PTSD. Results provide initial support for this measure as a tool that can be used in both research and in clinical practice (e.g., treatment monitoring).