title: Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in cancer: psychometric analysis of the Spanish Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian version.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The PTSD Checklist-Civilian version (PCL-C) was used as a screening tool to assess the presence of PTSD symptoms. The aim of this study was to explore the factorial structure of the Spanish version of the PCL-C and calculate the correlation of PTSD symptoms with distress and health-related quality of life.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample included 494 cancer outpatients. In order to validate the PCL-C, a principal component analysis was applied. The association between variable was measured by Pearson correlation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Findings evidenced three symptoms clusters on the PCL-C version, defined as Hyperarousal/Re-experiencing, Numbing and Avoidance. About 10% of the total sample met clinical PTSD symptoms. In addition, PTSD symptoms were related negatively to health-related quality of life and positively related with distress.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The conceptualization of PTSD symptoms for cancer patients is supported by the specific symptom clusters identified on PCL-C.
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Hospital of Mataró, Barcelona, Spain. gcosta@csdm.cat
authors: Gema
authors: G
authors: Costa-Requena
authors: Francisco
authors: F
authors: Gil
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D013030:Spain; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires