SPAN

Davidson, 2002

Description

The SPAN is a 4-item self-report screen derived from the Davidson Trauma Scale. Its name is an acronym for the 4 symptoms assessed (startle, physically upset by reminders, anger, and numbness). The 4 items that make up the SPAN are the items from the DTS that best distinguished a sample of patients with PTSD from a sample of patients without PTSD.

Respondents are asked to rate items on a 5-point scale (ranging from 0 = "Not at all distressing" to 4 = "Extremely distressing") to indicate how distressing each of the symptoms-items has been during the past week. A total score of 5 indicates a positive screen. Those screening positive should then be assessed with a structured interview for PTSD.

Sample Item

Sample items cannot be reproduced.

References

Davidson, J. (2002). SPAN Addendum to DTS Manual. Multi-Health Systems Inc. New York.

To Obtain Scale

Multi-Health Systems, Inc.
PO Box 950
North Tonawanda, NY 14120-0950
Phone: (800) 456-3003
Email: customerservice@mhs.com

Measure availability: Information on measures is available to everyone. However, the assessment tools themselves can only be distributed to qualified mental health professionals and researchers. We maintain measures developed by affiliated staff of the National Center for PTSD.