title: The influence of different criteria for establishing optimal cutoff scores on performance of two self-report measures for warzone PTSD.
abstract: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been regarded as a signature injury of war and elevated to one of the major behavioral health problems faced by military service members and veterans deployed to warzones. In PTSD diagnosis, self-report measures have often been used with a cutoff score to identify those with an elevated likelihood of having PTSD prior to conducting a second-tier diagnostic interview. With an attempt to guide the selection of cutoffs in self-report PTSD measures for various purposes, this study examined how five common criteria for establishing an optimal cutoff influenced the performance of self-report measures for warzone PTSD in relation to the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5) and whether the influence differed for the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 and the Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related PTSD. Using a probability sample of Vietnam theater veterans in the National Vietnam Veterans Longitudinal Study, results showed that in both self-report measures, the Youden Index criterion yielded the optimal cutoff that led to better test performance. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors.affiliation: Department of Business Administration, Shih-Hsin University.
authors.forename: Chia-Lin
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Ho
authors.affiliation: Abt Associates Inc.
authors.forename: William E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Schlenger
authors.affiliation: Independent Consultant.
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Kulka
authors.affiliation: Steven and Alexandra Cohen Veterans Center for Posttraumatic Stress and Traumatic Brain Injury, Department of Psychiatry, NYU Langone Medical Center.
authors.forename: Charles R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Marmar
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D057189:Checklist; D003130:Combat Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D057566:Self Report; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*; D047829:Vietnam Conflict