August 22, 2026Behaviour Research and Therapy
The validity of the PTSD checklist as a measure of symptomatic change in combat-related PTSD
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Discussion
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Implication
Longitudinal study demonstrates the PTSD Checklist accurately diagnoses combat veterans but underestimates symptom improvement, suggesting cautious interpretation of treatment changes.
Key Points
- To evaluate the validity of the self-report PTSD Checklist (PCL) against the clinician-administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) for detecting symptomatic and diagnostic changes following treatment.
- Assessed a sample of 97 Vietnam veterans with combat-related PTSD before and 9 months after participating in a specialized PTSD treatment program (N=97).
- Compared diagnostic accuracy and symptom-level sensitivity of the self-report PCL against the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) as the gold standard.
- The PCL demonstrated high overall diagnostic accuracy pre- and posttreatment compared to the CAPS.
- The PCL exhibited decreased diagnostic accuracy as symptoms approached threshold criteria and systematically underrated overall symptomatic improvement relative to clinician ratings.
- Optimal diagnostic utility was supported by an overall PCL cutoff score of 50 for PTSD diagnosis and an individual item score threshold of 3 for symptom criteria.
Cite This Study
Forbes et al. (2001) studied this question.