Psychometric evaluation of the PTSD Checklist for the DSM-5 (PCL-5) in Norway

Background: The Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) is one of the most frequently applied self-report measures of PTSD symptoms. Yet, there is a need for more knowledge of the instruments' psychometric performance in clinical samples. Furthermore, the Norwegian version of the PCL-5 has not yet been validated.Objective: This study aims to test the construct validity, internal consistency, factor structure, and change sensitivity of the Norwegian version of the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) in a nationwide heterogeneous psychiatric outpatient sample in Norway.Methods: The study is a naturalistic clinical observational study with two measurement points. Outpatients (N = 576, 71.54% women) receiving exposure-based psychological PTSD-treatment completed the PCL-5, the International Trauma Questionnaire (Disturbances in self-organisation subscale only), the brief Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale-7, and the EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-Level questionnaire.Results: The PCL-5 demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency, change sensitivity, and construct validity. CFAs revealed good fit for the anhedonia and the hybrid models.Conclusions: These results support the use of the Norwegian PCL-5 for the measurement of PTSD symptoms in heterogeneous psychiatric outpatient samples.