Psychometric Properties of the PTSD Checklist—Civilian Version

We examined the psychometric properties of the PTSD Checklist (PCL), a self-report instrument designed to assess symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. Three hundred ninety-two participants recruited in a university setting completed the PCL in addition to several well-established self-report instruments designed to assess various forms of psychopathology (e.g., depression, general anxiety, PTSD). Ninety participants returned for readministration of selected measures. Findings provided support for psychometric properties of the PCL, including internal consistency, test–retest reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity. Additional strengths of the PCL are discussed.

[1]  J. Schwarzwald,et al.  Hardiness: An Examination of its Relationship with Positive and Negative Long Term Changes Following Trauma , 2001, Journal of traumatic stress.

[2]  Lynda A. King,et al.  Resilience-recovery factors in post-traumatic stress disorder among female and male Vietnam veterans: hardiness, postwar social support, and additional stressful life events. , 1998, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[3]  J. Davidson,et al.  Assessment of a new self-rating scale for post-traumatic stress disorder , 1997, Psychological Medicine.

[4]  Joel Fischer,et al.  Measures for Clinical Practice: A Sourcebook , 1987 .

[5]  I. Stevenson THE EXPLANATORY VALUE OF THE IDEA OF REINCARNATION , 1977, The Journal of nervous and mental disease.

[6]  Fluoxetine in post-traumatic stress disorder , 1999, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[7]  A 2-year longitudinal analysis of the relationships between violent assault and substance use in women. , 1997 .

[8]  T. W. Miller,et al.  Posttraumatic stress disorder after treatment for breast cancer: prevalence of diagnosis and use of the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-C) as a screening instrument. , 1998, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[9]  John Rollins,et al.  Convergent validity of measures of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in a mixed military and civilian population , 1994, Journal of traumatic stress.

[10]  L. George,et al.  Religiosity and remission of depression in medically ill older patients. , 1998, The American journal of psychiatry.

[11]  G. Richardson,et al.  The metatheory of resilience and resiliency. , 2002, Journal of clinical psychology.

[12]  Dennis S. Charney,et al.  A CLINICIAN RATING SCALE FOR ASSESSING CURRENT AND LIFETIME PTSD: THE CAPS-1 , 1990 .

[13]  D. King,et al.  The civilian version of the Mississippi PTSD Scale: A psychometric evaluation , 1995, Journal of traumatic stress.

[14]  J. Lam,et al.  Resiliency and Adult Adaptation in Women with and Without Self-Reported Histories of Childhood Sexual Abuse , 1997 .

[15]  M. Tsuang,et al.  Pilot study of spirituality and mental health in twins. , 2002, The American journal of psychiatry.

[16]  J. Boscarino Diseases among men 20 years after exposure to severe stress: implications for clinical research and medical care. , 1997, Psychosomatic medicine.

[17]  J. Davidson,et al.  Posttraumatic stress disorder: epidemiology and health-related considerations. , 2000, The Journal of clinical psychiatry.

[18]  Lr Derogatis,et al.  SCL-90-R, Administration, Scoring, and Procedures Manual-II for the R(evised) Version and Other Instruments of the Psychopathology Rating Scale Series , 1983 .

[19]  R. Enright,et al.  Forgiveness as an intervention goal with incest survivors , 1996 .

[20]  Crystal L. Park,et al.  Assessment and prediction of stress-related growth. , 1996, Journal of personality.

[21]  D. C. Howell Statistical Methods for Psychology , 1987 .

[22]  L. Kiser,et al.  Physical and sexual abuse in childhood: relationship with post-traumatic stress disorder. , 1991, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

[23]  John-Paul Wilson,et al.  Assessing psychological trauma and PTSD , 1997 .

[24]  I. Stevenson The phenomenon of claimed memories of previous lives: possible interpretations and importance. , 2000, Medical hypotheses.

[25]  R. Tedeschi,et al.  The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory: measuring the positive legacy of trauma. , 1996, Journal of traumatic stress.

[26]  M. Horowitz,et al.  Impact of Event Scale: A Measure of Subjective Stress , 1979, Psychosomatic medicine.

[27]  H. Khouzam,et al.  Antidepressant treatment, posttraumatic stress disorder, survivor guilt, and spiritual awakening. , 1997, Journal of traumatic stress.

[28]  D. Forbes,et al.  The validity of the PTSD checklist as a measure of symptomatic change in combat-related PTSD. , 2001, Behaviour research and therapy.

[29]  R. Kessler,et al.  Trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in the community: the 1996 Detroit Area Survey of Trauma. , 1998, Archives of general psychiatry.

[30]  Jay P. Jensen,et al.  Religiosity of psychotherapists: A national survey. , 1990 .

[31]  M. King,et al.  Spiritual and religious beliefs in acute illness--is this a feasible area for study? , 1994, Social science & medicine.

[32]  H. Resnick,et al.  Prevalence of civilian trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in a representative national sample of women , 1993 .

[33]  Michael B. First,et al.  Handbook of Psychiatric Measures , 2000 .

[34]  J. Davidson,et al.  Trauma: prevalence, impairment, service use, and cost. , 1997, The Journal of clinical psychiatry.

[35]  H. Resnick,et al.  Violence and risk of PTSD, major depression, substance abuse/dependence, and comorbidity: results from the National Survey of Adolescents. , 2003, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[36]  I Marks,et al.  Quick rating of depressed mood in patients with anxiety disorders , 1999, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[37]  Barbara O. Rothbaum,et al.  Reliability and validity of a brief instrument for assessing post‐traumatic stress disorder , 1993 .

[38]  C. Spielberger,et al.  Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory , 1970 .

[39]  Bruce G. Taylor,et al.  Changes in Spirituality and Well-Being Among Victims of Sexual Assault , 1998 .

[40]  E. Blanchard,et al.  Psychometric properties of the PTSD Checklist (PCL). , 1996, Behaviour research and therapy.

[41]  D. Foy,et al.  Posttraumatic stress disorder among battered women: risk and resiliency factors. , 1993, Violence and victims.

[42]  J. Kroll,et al.  Psychiatric patients' belief in general health factors and sin as causes of illness. , 1990, The American journal of psychiatry.

[43]  H. Kraemer,et al.  The utility of the SCL-90-R for the diagnosis of war-zone related posttraumatic stress disorder , 1996 .

[44]  Christopher G. Davis,et al.  Childhood adversity and adult psychiatric disorder in the US National Comorbidity Survey , 1997, Psychological Medicine.

[45]  J. Jackson,et al.  Unfair treatment, neighborhood effects, and mental health in the Detroit metropolitan area. , 2000, Journal of health and social behavior.

[46]  M. King,et al.  The Royal Free Interview for Spiritual and Religious Beliefs: development and validation of a self-report version , 2001, Psychological Medicine.

[47]  E. Foa,et al.  Comparison of the PTSD Symptom Scale–Interview Version and the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale , 2000, Journal of traumatic stress.

[48]  Larry R. Decker,et al.  The Role of Trauma in Spiritual Development , 1993 .

[49]  J. Davidson,et al.  Development of a new resilience scale: The Connor‐Davidson Resilience Scale (CD‐RISC) , 2003, Depression and anxiety.

[50]  Roy F. Baumeister,et al.  Meanings of Life , 1992 .

[51]  D. Regier,et al.  Revised prevalence estimates of mental disorders in the United States: using a clinical significance criterion to reconcile 2 surveys' estimates. , 2002, Archives of general psychiatry.

[52]  E. Bagiella,et al.  Religion, spirituality, and medicine , 1999, The Lancet.

[53]  M. King,et al.  The effect of spiritual beliefs on outcome from illness. , 1999, Social science & medicine.

[54]  Dc Washington Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Ed. , 1994 .

[55]  M. Stein,et al.  Full and partial posttraumatic stress disorder: findings from a community survey. , 1997, The American journal of psychiatry.

[56]  Jasmin K. Riad,et al.  Standardized self-report measures of civilian trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder. , 1997 .

[57]  J. Cottraux,et al.  The Validation of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist Scale in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Nonclinical Subjects , 2001, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.

[58]  D. Kilpatrick,et al.  Development of a crime-related post-traumatic stress disorder scale for women within the symptom checklist-90-revised , 1990 .

[59]  T. Keane,et al.  Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: three studies in reliability and validity. , 1988, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[60]  A. Cann,et al.  A Correlational Test of the Relationship Between Posttraumatic Growth, Religion, and Cognitive Processing , 2000, Journal of traumatic stress.

[61]  R. Kessler,et al.  Posttraumatic stress disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey. , 1995, Archives of general psychiatry.