The Responses to Script-Driven Imagery Scale (RSDI): Assessment of State Posttraumatic Symptoms for Psychobiological and Treatment Research

Studies of PTSD employing symptom provocation have seldom included self-report measures of the symptoms provoked. Doing so could benefit psychobiological research by improving diagnostic discrimination and capturing the heterogeneity of responses to script-driven imagery, and treatment research by complementing existing outcome measures. This paper describes the initial development and psychometric properties of the Responses to Script-Driven Imagery Scale (RSDI), a brief self-report measure of state PTSD and dissociative symptoms evoked by script-driven imagery, a widely used symptom provocation method in PTSD research. Across three samples and three variants of the script-driven imagery paradigm, confirmatory factor analysis fit a hypothesized and sample-invariant three-factor structure for the RSDI, composed of reexperiencing, avoidance, and dissociative symptoms. Subscales exhibited acceptable to high internal consistency reliabilities, and construct validity evidence was strong and consistent with predictions. The RSDI shows promise as a tool for psychobiological and treatment outcome research on PTSD.