@2024 Afarand., IRAN

---

ISSN: 2008-2630    Iranian Journal of War & Public Health 2016;8(4):243-249

Background
One of psychological disorders is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that is classified as an anxiety disorder. Sudden and unexpected environmental disorders can cause severe psychological and physical symptoms. These severe symptoms, often referred to as PTSD, are defined as a severe response in face of severe stressors that appear in form of high anxiety, avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbness in emotional responses [1, 2].
Previous Studies
… [3, 17]. Iran-Iraq war has caused various physical and mental effects in many victims. It has been reported that among these problems, post-traumatic stress disorder has been the most common with 41% [18]. … [19-22].
Aim(s)
The purpose of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL-5) with the help of modern psychometric methods among the veterans.
Research type
The purpose of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL-5) with the help of modern psychometric methods among the veterans.
Research society, place and time
The period of the study was from November 2015 to April 2016. The population consisted of all male veterans with chronic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Tehran.
Sampling method and number
400 of these veterans were selected as samples. Due to lack of access and possibility of random sampling, purposive and available sampling was used. Inclusion criteria included confirmed disorder by psychologists in military hospitals, minimum education level of primary school, and the lack of psychotic disorders and features according to the psychiatrists
Used devices&materials
The research tool was a Checklist of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PCL) which was a self-report scale for screening these patients from normal people and other patients. The advantage of this checklist is its conciseness and brevity, and its administration takes 10 minutes. PCL Checklist has been prepared based on DSM-5 diagnosis criteria for The United States National Center of PTSD. It includes 20 items that 5, 2, 7, and 6 items of it are related to signs and symptoms of re-experiencing the traumatic event, avoidance of stimuli associated with traumatic event, negative changes in cognition and mood associated with the event, and arousal and reactivity associated with traumatic event respectively [23]. Total score ranges from zero to 80 that is obtained by summing the scores in each of 20 items based on the Likert Scale (at all=zero, very low=one, moderate=2, severe=3, very severe=4).The cut off score for the diagnosis is 50. PCL-5 psychometric properties were studied in a large group with 912 members of the army seeking for PTSD treatment. The internal consistency, convergent validity, discriminant validity and factor structure of PCL-5 indicated high internal consistency and accepted validity of PCL-5 checklist [24]. In order to assess the validity of the checklist and confirmation of the four-factor structure in its Persian version, first and second order exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used. For confirmatory factor analysis, with regard to the fact that serial and batch items were existed in the model, Diagonal Weighted Least Square (DWLS) and theta parameters were used during the first and second order confirmatory factor analysis. In order to study the convergent evidence for PCL-5 Scale, CAPS list was used and the correlation coefficient between the two measures was reported in the 30 persons of the sample group. Also, to investigate the reliability of PCL-5 Scale, Cronbach’s alpha was used. In order to assess test-rest reliability, also, 30 persons in the sample group were tested again after three weeks.
Findings by Text
In total, the structures based on the four subscales to explain and fit, were in good condition and it can be told that the researcher`s assumption that the PCL-5 checklist has four factors, is approved (Figure 1, Table 1). There was a significant correlation between PCL-5 and CAPS scales. Therefore, PCL-5 Checklist had satisfactory convergent evidence (p=0.001; r=0.68). Cranbach’s alpha and test-retest reliability coefficients in the whole scale and its dimensions were higher than 0.07 and they were satisfactory (Table 2).
Main comparison to the similar studies
In line with the findings of this study, validity and reliability of PCL-5 have been confirmed in a study of parents of children with burn [25]. Also, the internal consistency, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of PCL-5 in the members of army who seek treatment, indicated high consistency and acceptable validity of PCL-5 checklist [24].
Suggestions
It is recommended that this tool be used in Iran for screening.
Limitations
Since the presented results in this study is related to the veterans, caution should be observed in the generalization of the result to other PTSD groups.
Conclusions
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PCL-5) has good reliability and validity, and it can be effective in screening evaluations of veterans.
Acknowledgments
The authorities of military hospitals that provided the context for this study are appreciated.
Conflict of interest
Non-declared
Ethical Permissions
Assurance of confidentiality of information, and psychological and mental preparation of the samples for participating in this study were the moral points observed in this study.
Funding Sources
The funds for this research was provided by the author

TABLES and CHARTS

Show attach file