Reliability and validity of the Arabic PTSD Checklist Civilian Version (PCL-C) in women survivors of intimate partner violence

Abstract

Although intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors are at high risk for developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), PTSD has been considered a disorder specific to Western culture. There is a lack of reliable and valid measures of PTSD symptomology available in the Arab world, and there is still no clear evidence about the underlying factor structure of PTSD symptomology in the context of IPV. Thus, in the present study we investigated the construct validity (factor structure), internal consistency, and concurrent validity of a translated version of the PTSD Checklist Civilian Version (PCL-C) in a sample of 299 Saudi women who had experienced IPV. Four competing models (DSM-IV, Emotional Numbing, Dysphoria, and Dysphoric Arousal) were specified and estimated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The five-factor Dysphoric Arousal model provided superior fit with the data compared to the alternative models, supporting construct validity of the Arabic PCL-C. The factor loadings for the five-factor Dysphoric Arousal model ranged from .31 to .83. A relatively high correlation between the Arabic PCL-C and Arabic Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) Scale (r = .78, p < .05) provided evidence of concurrent validity. The total scale also demonstrated internal consistency reliability (α = .89). Overall, the study supports the Dysphoric Arousal model in representing PTSD symptoms among IPV survivors, the reliability and validity of the Arabic version of PCL-C, and the cross-cultural applicability of PTSD symptoms.

Keywords: confirmatory factor analysis; intimate partner violence; post-traumatic stress disorder; psychometric testing.