title: An assessment of the construct validity of the ICD-11 proposal for complex posttraumatic stress disorder.
abstract: A new diagnosis, complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), is set to be introduced in the 11th revision to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). Studies have supported a unique group of trauma-exposed individuals who exhibit symptoms consistent with CPTSD proposals. No studies have yet tested the proposed latent symptom structure of CPTSD proposed for ICD-11. This study tests the factorial validity of CPTSD and assesses the role of a range of risk factors to predict CPTSD.
  
  
  
  A large sample (N = 453) of treatment-seeking adult victims of childhood sexual abuse completed self-report measures of CPTSD. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to compare a set of alternative factor models of CPTSD.
  
  
  
  Just less than half of the sample met the diagnostic criteria for CPTSD (42.8%). CFA results supported the factorial validity of the ICD-11 proposals for CPTSD. Being female and experiencing a greater number of sexual abuse acts during childhood were more strongly associated with PTSD than CPTSD symptoms. Regarding symptoms, anxiety was more strongly associated with PTSD than CPTSD, whereas higher levels of dysthymia were more strongly associated with CPTSD than PTSD symptoms.
  
  
  
  Results provide initial evidence regarding the factorial validity of the proposed ICD-11 model of CPTSD. In addition, current results support the proposals of the ICD-11 that exposure to abuse during early development is associated with a greater likelihood of CPTSD than PTSD. The study contributes to a growing body of empirical data supporting the construct validity of CPTSD as a unique diagnostic entity. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors.affiliation: School of Business.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9574-7128
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hyland
authors.affiliation: Psychology Research Institute, School of Psychology, Ulster University.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6262-5223
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shevlin
authors.affiliation: National Centre for Psychotraumatology, Institute for Psychology, University of Southern Denmark.
authors.forename: Ask
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Elklit
authors.affiliation: Psychology Research Institute, School of Psychology, Ulster University.
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.affiliation: Centre for Global Health, School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin.
authors.forename: Frédérique
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6315-3029
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vallières
authors.affiliation: National Center for PTSD Division of Dissemination and Training, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University.
authors.forename: Donn W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Garvert
authors.affiliation: National Center for PTSD Division of Dissemination and Training, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University.
authors.forename: Marylène
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cloitre
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012742:Sex Offenses / Q000523:psychology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000145:classification*; D055815:Young Adult