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This study demonstrated the application of an innovative item response theory (IRT) based approach to evaluating measurement equivalence, comparing a newly developed Spanish version of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist–Civilian Version (PCL–C) with the established English version. Basic principles and practical issues faced in the application of IRT methods for instrument evaluation are discussed. Data were derived from a study of the mental health consequences of community violence in both Spanish speakers (n 102) and English speakers (n 284). Results of differential item functioning (DIF) analyses revealed that the 2 versions were not fully equivalent on an item-by-item basis in that 6 of the 17 items displayed uniform DIF. No bias was observed, however, at the level of the composite PCL–C scale score, indicating that the 2 language versions can be combined for scale-level analyses.
Orlando et al. (Fri,) studied this question.