Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2011 Jul;28(7):596-606.
doi: 10.1002/da.20837. Epub 2011 Jun 16.

Synthesis of the psychometric properties of the PTSD checklist (PCL) military, civilian, and specific versions

Kendall C Wilkins  1 , Ariel J Lang, Sonya B Norman
Affiliations
Review

Synthesis of the psychometric properties of the PTSD checklist (PCL) military, civilian, and specific versions

Kendall C Wilkins et al. Depress Anxiety. 2011 Jul.

Abstract

The posttraumatic stress disorder checklist is a commonly used measure, with military (PCL-M), civilian (PCL-C), and specific trauma (PCL-S) versions. This synthesis of the psychometric properties of all three versions found the PCL to be a well-validated measure. The PCL shows good temporal stability, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity. The majority of structural validity studies support four factor models. Little is available on discriminant validity and sensitivity to change. Strengths, limitations, and future research directions are discussed. Understanding the PCL's psychometric properties, strengths (e.g., items map on to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria), and limitations (e.g., may overestimate PTSD prevalence) will help clinicians and researchers make educated decisions regarding the appropriate use of this measure in their particular setting.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Weathers F, Litz B, Herman D, Huska J, Keane T. The PTSD Checklist: Reliability, validity, & diagnositic utility. Annual Meeting of the Internation Society of Traumatic Stress Studies; San Antonio, TX. 1993.
    1. Elhai J, Gray M, Kashdan T, Franklin C. Which instruments are most commonly used to assess traumatic event exposure and posttraumatic effects?: A survey of traumatic stress professionals. Journal of Traumatic Stress. 2005;18(5):541–545. - PubMed
    1. Shelby R, Golden-Kreutz D, Andersen B. Mismatch of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and DSM-IV symptom clusters in a cancer sample: Exploratory factor analysis of the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version. Journal of Traumatic Stress. 2005;18(4):347–357. - PMC - PubMed
    1. DSM-IV A. Diagnostic and statistic manual of mental disorders. American Psychiatric Association; Washington, DC: 1994.
    1. Weathers F, Litz B, Huska J, Keane T. PTSD Checklist-Military version. In: PTSD NCf, editor. Behavioral Sciences Division. Boston: 1994.

Publication types