Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30115040›Full record

ArticleBMC psychiatry2018

The validity of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) as screening instrument with Kurdish and Arab displaced populations living in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

Hawkar Ibrahim, Verena Ertl, Claudia Catani, Azad Ali Ismail, Frank Neuner

Abstract readValidation Study
In one paragraph

Article in BMC psychiatry, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 147 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
147citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

147 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Trial
  6. Trial
  7. Trial
  8. Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Trial
  11. Trial
  12. Trial
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

87 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Hawkar IbrahimDepartment of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany. hawkar@uni-bielefeld.de.
Verena ErtlDepartment of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
Claudia CataniDepartment of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
Azad Ali IsmailDepartment of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.
Frank NeunerDepartment of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL) is a valid and reliable self-report measure for the assessment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Recently the PCL was updated according to the DSM-5 criteria for PTSD. So far only a few studies have examined the psychometric properties of the PCL-5, and all of these are restricted to populations living in industrialized countries. The aim of this study was to determine the psychometric properties and diagnostic utility of the PCL-5 as a screening instrument for war-affected displaced Kurdish and Arab populations. The specific goal was to determine a contextually valid cut-off score for a probable diagnosis of PTSD.

methodsThe PCL-5 was translated into Arabic and two Kurdish dialects. Trained interviewers administered these translations as assisted self-reports to 206 adults living in camps for displaced people in Iraq, together with depression and war-exposure instruments. Two weeks later, 98 randomly chosen subjects were reassessed by expert clinical psychologists. In the absence of a gold-standard instrument with proven validity in this context, the expert interviewers applied the PCL-5 items in the form of a clinical interview and used a DSM-5-algorithm to determine a diagnosis of PTSD. Receiver operator characteristics (ROC) were performed to determine a valid cutoff-score.

resultsThe internal consistency of the PCL-5 was high (alpha = .85) and the instrument showed an adequate convergent validity. Using the cut-off score of 23, the PCL-5 achieved the optimal balance of sensitivity and specificity (area under the curve = .82, p < .001; sensitivity = .82, specificity = .70).

conclusionsGiven that the comparison of the two assessments included both a re-test interval and validation by different interviewers, our results indicate that the PCL-5 can be recommended as an assessment and screening instrument for Kurdish and Arab populations.

Indexed as

ArabsAdaptation, PsychologicalAdultChecklistDepressive DisorderDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental DisordersFemaleHumansIraqLanguageMalePsychometricsReproducibility of ResultsSelf ReportSensitivity and SpecificityStress Disorders, Post-TraumaticArab springDisplaced peoplePCLPTSDValidation

Identifiers

PMID30115040
PMCPMC6097219

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.