When Hindsight Is Not 20/20: Ecological Momentary Assessment of PTSD Symptoms Versus Retrospective Report.

Assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has relied almost exclusively on retrospective memory of symptoms, sometimes over long intervals. This approach creates potential for recall bias and obscures the extent to which symptoms fluctuate. The aim of the present study was to examine the discrepancy between retrospective self-reporting of PTSD symptoms and ecological momentary assessment (EMA), which captures symptoms closer to when they occur. The study also sought to estimate the degree to which PTSD symptoms vary or are stable in the short-term. World Trade Center responders (