A validation of the PCL-5 questionnaire for PTSD in primary and secondary care.

OBJECTIVE

This paper explored the factor structure of the PCL-5 within a sample of U.K. primary and secondary care mental health service users. Much of the previous investigations into the PCL-5 have been conducted on military or emergency service personnel; therefore, it is important to understand the validity of this tool within a broader sample. In addition to this concerns have been raised over the statistical validity of much of the previous research.

METHOD

An exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the factor structure of the PCL-5 within this population.

RESULTS

The results of this study suggest that several items of the PCL-5 should be removed, and this presents a 3-factor structure whereby the factors are Anhedonia, Intrusion and Negative alterations in Mood and Cognition.

CONCLUSIONS

This challenges much of the previous literature, which suggested 4, 6, and 7 factor models. The implications of this are discussed in detail in this paper. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).