An Examination of the Glover Numbing Scale: Expanding the Content Validity of Posttraumatic Numbing

Quantification of posttraumatic numbing (PTN) has largely been limited to the assessment of a small number of items taken directly from the DSM. The current study takes steps to expand the content validity of PTN through examination of the Glover Numbing Scale (GNS), one of the few available measures specific to PTN. Specifically, the factor structure of the GNS and its convergence with DSM-based indices of PTN were examined in a sample of motor vehicle accident survivors (MVA; N = 288). Whereas the 5-factor structure originally proposed by Glover et al. Anxiety 1:70–79 (1994) evidenced a poor fit to the sample data, exploratory analysis suggested a 1-factor structure underlying data collected from the sample. Furthermore, GNS scores derived from this solution evidenced a strong convergent relationship with DSM-based PTN. These data suggest that alternative indicators contained within the GNS may be used to expand current conceptualizations of PTN.

J. Gayle BeckEmail: