Psychometric Validation of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM– ۵ (PCL-۵) among Rwandan Undergraduate Students

Introduction: The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM– ۵ (PCL-۵) is one of the most commonly used tools in measuring PTSD symptoms. However, little is known about its validity in post-genocide Rwanda. This research therefore, aimed at determining psychometric properties and diagnostic utility of the PCL-۵ scale among university students in Rwanda.Method: A total of ۱۴۳ participants completed PCL-۵, the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire-part۴ (HTQ-part۴), and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist-۲۵ (Anxiety [HSCL-A] and Depression [HSCL-D] subscales). The Cronbach's alpha coefficient and the Mean Item Inter-Correlation (MIIC) were computed to assess the tool reliability and Receiver Operator Characteristics (ROC) was performed to determine a valid cutoff-score.Results: Findings indicated excellent internal consistency for PCL-۵ total score and each of the four subscales. PCL-۵ scores correlated strongly with scores on HTQ-part۴, HSCL-D and HSCL-A, supporting convergent validity. The diagnostic accuracy of the scale was excellent (AUC=۰.۹۳۴, p<.۰۰۱). The optimal cutoff score of ≥۲۳ optimized sensitivity (۰.۸۸۷) while maintaining adequate specificity (۰.۸۸۹).Conclusion: It can be concluded that PCL-۵ has high validity, internal consistency, and psychometric properties when applied to the sample of Rwandan students.

کلیدواژه ها:

PCL-۵ ، Psychometric properties ، Reliability ، Validity ، undergraduate students