Quality and reliability of YouTube videos on post-traumatic stress disorder: a cross-sectional content analysis

Background With increasing geopolitical instability and conflicts, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has become a significant global mental health burden. YouTube is a major source of health information, yet the quality, reliability, and cross-linguistic differences of PTSD-related content remain insufficiently explored. This study aimed to compare the quality and reliability of Chinese- and English-language PTSD videos and to identify factors associated with video quality. Methods On July 27, 2025, we systematically searched YouTube using the English terms “PTSD” and “post-traumatic stress disorder,” and the Chinese term “创伤后应激障碍” The top 100 Chinese-language and top 100 English-language videos were included ( n = 200). The Global Quality Score (GQS) and DISCERN instrument were used to assess video quality and reliability. Spearman correlation analysis and ordinal logistic regression (OLR) were performed to examine factors associated with video quality and reliability. Results English-language videos received significantly more likes, comments, and views and had longer durations on the platform than Chinese-language videos (all p 0.01), whereas Chinese-language videos were significantly longer in duration ( p 0.001). Both groups showed median GQS and DISCERN scores of 3, indicating moderate quality and reliability overall. Chinese-language videos demonstrated higher reliability (DISCERN, p 0.05). Videos produced by professionals and professional organizations/universities had significantly higher quality and reliability scores than those from patients or news channels ( p 0.05). Engagement metrics, including views, were not independently associated with video quality or reliability, while likes and comments showed only weak correlations with GQS. In contrast, video length was positively associated with both GQS and DISCERN scores and remained an independent predictor in OLR models. Conclusion PTSD-related videos on YouTube in both Chinese and English were of only moderate quality and reliability. English-language videos attracted higher engagement but demonstrated lower reliability, whereas Chinese-language videos were more reliable but longer and less interactive. Video length emerged as an independent determinant of both quality and reliability, whereas popularity indicators did not correspond to informational value. These findings highlight a disconnect between visibility and evidence-based quality and underscore the need for greater institutional participation and platform-level quality signaling to improve the dissemination of reliable PTSD-related information across languages.