title: Screening for PTSD in public-sector mental health settings: the diagnostic utility of the PTSD checklist.
abstract: There are few available data on how to accurately screen for and assess posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among severely mentally ill adults, a group with high rates of unrecognized trauma and PTSD symptoms. We examined the diagnostic utility of a widely used screening instrument, the PTSD Checklist (PCL), for diagnosing PTSD among 44 traumatized, adult, public-sector mental health patients recruited through a community mental health program. Participants completed the PCL and the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS), which is considered the "gold standard" for determining PTSD diagnoses. Data provide preliminary support for the use of the PCL as a screening instrument in public psychiatric settings, indicating that the optimal cut-point for adults with severe mental illness is about 54 (with slightly higher or lower recommended cut-points depending on the clinical context and purpose of the PCL). Such data are critical to ensuring that public-sector mental health patients with trauma-related difficulties are identified and referred for appropriate services.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, and the Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Charleston, South Carolina 29425, USA. grubaugh@musc.edu
authors.forename: Anouk L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Grubaugh
authors.forename: Jon D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Elhai
authors.forename: Karen J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Cusack
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: B Christopher
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Frueh
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D017150:Public Sector; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012050:Rehabilitation, Vocational; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation