title: Diagnostic Utility of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist for Identifying Full and Partial PTSD in Active-Duty Military.
abstract: The aim of this study was to determine optimally efficient cutoff scores on the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL) for identifying full posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and partial PTSD (P-PTSD) in active-duty Marines and Sailors. Participants were 1,016 Marines and Sailors who were administered the PCL and Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) 3 months after returning from Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. PCL cutoffs were tested against three CAPS-based classifications: full PTSD, stringent P-PTSD, and lenient P-PTSD. A PCL score of 39 was found to be optimally efficient for identifying full PTSD. Scores of 38 and 33 were found to be optimally efficient for identifying stringent and lenient P-PTSD, respectively. Findings suggest that the PCL cutoff that is optimally efficient for detecting PTSD in active-duty Marines and Sailors is substantially lower than the score of 50 commonly used by researchers. In addition, findings provide scores useful for identifying P-PTSD in returning service members.
authors.affiliation: Cincinnati VA Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA benjamin.dickstein@va.gov.
authors.forename: Benjamin D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Dickstein
authors.affiliation: Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Frank W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Weathers
authors.affiliation: VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Abigail C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Angkaw
authors.affiliation: VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Caroline M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Nievergelt
authors.affiliation: VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yurgil
authors.affiliation: Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health & Traumatic Brain Injury, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: William P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Nash
authors.affiliation: VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA University of California, San Diego, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Dewleen G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.affiliation: VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Brett T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Litz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D057189:Checklist / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D047830:Gulf War; D006801:Humans; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055500:Resilience, Psychological; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: CAPS; Marines; PCL; PTSD; Sailors; military; subthreshold