[The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5): comparing responsivity with the Outcome Questionnaire (OQ-45) and practical...

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Mental Health Research

Background:

• Routine outcome monitoring (ROM) is crucial for effective PTSD patient care.
• The PTSD Checklist for the DSM-5 (PCL-5) is a potential tool for ROM.
• Its utility requires evaluation against existing measures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the PCL-5's value for ROM in PTSD patients.
• To compare the PCL-5's responsiveness and patient burden against the OQ-45.
• To determine if the PCL-5 justifies the additional patient effort.

Main Methods:

• A head-to-head comparison of PCL-5 and OQ-45 in 464 PTSD patients.
• Pretest and retest measurements were analyzed.
• Statistical analysis included correlation, ANOVA, Cohen's d, and Delta T.

Main Results:

• High correlations were found between PCL-5 and OQ-45 scores.
• No significant difference in responsiveness was detected by ANOVA.
• PCL-5 showed slightly better responsiveness and identified a greater proportion of recovered patients.

Conclusions:

• The PCL-5 provides more detailed information on PTSD symptom severity and nature.
• PCL-5 demonstrated a slightly superior ability to show clinically significant change compared to OQ-SD.
• The PCL-5 is recommended for integration into ROM for PTSD patients.