Several changes have been made to the diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The present study attempts to establish the validity and reliability of the new PTSD Checklist for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (PCL-5). A group of 597 Malaysian adolescents (Mage = 16.9, SD = 1.30) completed the PCL-5, Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, and Patient Health Questionnaire for depression (PHQ-9). The results showed the PCL-5 has good internal consistency (α = .91), test–retest reliability (r = .61), and concurrent, convergent, and discriminant validity with the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (r = .69) and the Patient Health Questionnaire for depression (r = .56). Results from the receiver operating characteristic curve and kappa coefficient analysis suggest that a PCL-5 cutoff score of 33 is feasible for use among Malaysian adolescents with 72% sensitivity and 92% specificity. Thus, the PCL-5 appears psychometrically sound, and a cutoff of 33 is recommended for PTSD screening among the Malaysian adolescent population.

These findings indicate that despite the presence of DIF for 2 DSM-5 symptoms, this does not provide firm support for nonequivalence across sex. (PsycINFO Database Record

The factor structure of DSM-5 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been extensively debated with evidence supporting the recently proposed seven-factor Hybrid model. However, despite myriad studies examining PTSD symptom structure few have assessed the diagnostic implications of these proposed models. This study aimed to generate PTSD prevalence estimates derived from the 7 alternative factor models and assess whether pre-established risk factors associated with PTSD (e.g., transportation accidents and sexual victimisation) produce consistent risk estimates. Seven alternative models were estimated within a confirmatory factor analytic framework using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Data were analysed from a Malaysian adolescent community sample (n = 481) of which 61.7% were female, with a mean age of 17.03 years. The results indicated that all models provided satisfactory model fit with statistical superiority for the Externalising Behaviours and seven-factor Hybrid models. The PTSD prevalence estimates varied substantially ranging from 21.8% for the DSM-5 model to 10.0% for the Hybrid model. Estimates of risk associated with PTSD were inconsistent across the alternative models, with substantial variation emerging for sexual victimisation. These findings have important implications for research and practice and highlight that more research attention is needed to examine the diagnostic implications emerging from the alternative models of PTSD.

a b s t r a c tThe underlying latent structure of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is widely researched. However, despite a plethora of factor analytic studies, no single model has consistently been shown as superior to alternative models. The two most often supported models are the Emotional Numbing and the Dysphoria models. However, a recently proposed five-factor Dysphoric Arousal model has been gathering support over and above existing models. Data for the current study were gathered from Malaysian Tsunami survivors (N¼ 250). Three competing models (Emotional Numbing/Dysphoria/ Dysphoric Arousal) were specified and estimated using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The Dysphoria model provided superior fit to the data compared to the Emotional Numbing model. However, using chi-square difference tests, the Dysphoric Arousal model showed a superior fit compared to both the Emotional Numbing and Dysphoria models. In conclusion, the current results suggest that the Dysphoric Arousal model better represents PTSD's latent structure and that items measuring sleeping difficulties, irritability/anger and concentration difficulties form a separate, unique PTSD factor. These results are discussed in relation to the role of Hyperarousal in PTSD's on-going symptom maintenance and in relation to the DSM-5.

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