Examination of the latent structure of DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in Slovakia

The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist for DSM-5: A Systematic Review of Existing Psychometric Evidence

The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) is a widely used self-rated measure of DSM-5 PTSD symptoms. The goal of this systematic review was to synthesize research on the psychometric properties of the PCL-5 to guide clinical and research applications. We focused on reliability, validity, factor structure, optimal cutoff scores, and sensitivity to clinical change indices. A systematic review of the literature following PRISMA guidelines was conducted using PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and PTSDpubs with search terms capturing selected psychometric indices of the PCL-5. The inclusion criteria were: peer-reviewed publication in English; primary focus on the PCL-5 psychometrics; empirical study; and study with adult samples. The search yielded 265 studies; 56 papers (amounting to 64 studies) met inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Findings generally indicated evidence for: acceptable internal consistency and test-retest reliability; construct validity; a 7-factor Hybrid Model; recommended cutoff scores between 31-33; and ability to index sensitivity to clinical change. To further advance knowledge and applications of the PCL-5, we need more research on abbreviated versions of the PCL-5, bifactor modeling as applied to the PCL-5, as well as on PCL-5 item difficulty estimates, discrimination parameters, and clinical change score estimates.

Dimensional Structure and Cultural Invariance of DSM V Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Among Iraqi and Syrian Displaced People

While the factor structure of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms has been investigated among various traumatized populations in Western and high-income countries, knowledge regarding the validity of factor structure of PTSD among culturally diverse populations in low-and-middle-income countries is limited. The current study examined the factor structure and cultural invariance of PTSD in 521 Iraqi and 993 Syrian war-affected displaced people who were living in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Results from confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that alternative factor models for PTSD, including a new model derived from this population (anhedonia and affect model) resulted in a better fit than the current DSM V models. Taken together, the results showed that a good fit, as well as the measurement invariance of PTSD factors, could be obtained by applying the anhedonia and hybrid model. This study provides further support for the anhedonia and hybrid model of PTSD and fills an important gap in knowledge about the validity of PTSD symptom clusters among Arab and Kurdish populations.

Posttraumatic stress symptoms in people exposed to the 2017 earthquakes in Mexico

This is the first study to produce a reliable valid measure of the symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD) in Mexico, which has a high incidence of disasters, and has not had a measurement of PTSD frequency in the population. The objective was to analyze the prevalence of PTSD symptoms in persons who experienced the 2017 earthquakes in Mexico. A probabilistic sample of 1539 participants from Mexico City, the State of Mexico, Chiapas, Puebla, Morelos and Oaxaca during November and December of 2017 was screened using the Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS) for symptoms of post-traumatic stress. The prevalence of PTSD symptoms was 34.6%, with greater effects on the inhabitants of Oaxaca, Morelos and Puebla, women, indigenous people and people who experienced damage to their homes (p = 0.001). The DTS had a moderate negative correlation with the RS-14 and a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.957. The confirmatory factor analysis generated four factors that explain 50% of the variance, compatible with a Dysphoria model. We can conclude that one in three people exposed to earthquakes had symptoms of post-traumatic stress.