Portuguese version of the PTSD Checklist-Military Version (PCL-M) - II: diagnostic utility

• Published in: Revista brasileira de psiquiatria Vol. 37; no. 1; pp. 55 - 62
• Main Authors: Carvalho, Teresa, Pinto-Gouveia, José, Cunha, Marina, Duarte, Joana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Brazil Associação Brasileira de Psiquiatria 01.01.2015; Associação Brasileira de Psiquiatria (ABP)
• Subjects: Aged; Checklist - standards; Combat Disorders - diagnosis; Combat Disorders - psychology; diagnosis and classification; Epidemiologic Methods; Humans; Language; Male; Middle Aged; military psychiatry; Posttraumatic stress disorder; PSYCHIATRY; psychometric, statistics; Psychometrics; Reference Values; Severity of Illness Index; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - psychology; tests/interviews; Veterans - psychology; tests/interviews; Posttraumatic stress disorder; psychometric, statistics; military psychiatry; diagnosis and classification
• ISSN: 1516-4446; 1809-452X; 1809-452X
• DOI: 10.1590/1516-4446-2013-1319

War veterans are at high risk of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and the development of brief self-report instruments that enable screening for PTSD in this population is crucial. The PTSD Checklist-Military Version (PCL-M) is widely used for this purpose. This study sought to explore the diagnostic utility of the Portuguese version of the PCL-M. The participants were 86 Portuguese Colonial War veterans (42 with a PTSD diagnosis and 44 without PTSD). Participants completed a self-report instrument designed to collect sociodemographic data, the PCL-M, and the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS). The area under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve showed excellent discriminant ability between subjects with and without PTSD (AUC = 0.94). To achieve a positive PTSD diagnosis, an optimal cutoff point of 49 for the PCL-M total score and cutoff points for each of its 17 items are recommended. This work is a relevant contribution for research and clinical practice in the vast population of Portuguese Colonial War veterans. Use of the PCL-M as a screening tool for PTSD symptoms will allow easier, resource-aware targeting of subjects with a potential PTSD diagnosis, adding to the improvement of public health in Portugal.