Measurement invariance of the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 across eight countries and samples with diverse trauma experiences

Cyniak-Cieciura M. Popiel A. Zawadzki B. Cremeans-Smith J.K. Fruehstorfer D.B. Bielak P. Camino V. Cha E.J. Cho Y. Galarregui M. Goldfarb R. Hyun M.-H. Kalinina Z. Keegan E. Mambetalina A. McHugh L. Miracco M. Oshio A. Park C. Partarrieu A. De Rosa L. Sabirova R. Samekin A. Sánchez E. Sarno M. Tarruella C. Tulekova G.M. Topanova G.T.
April 2025 John Wiley and Sons Inc

Journal of Traumatic Stress
2025 #38 Issue 2 247 - 258 pp.

The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) is a well-known tool for measuring posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Although the tool has been translated into many different languages, only one study, conducted in European countries, has examined measurement invariance (MI) across these versions. The present study aimed to verify PCL-5 MI in eight countries: Argentina, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Poland, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. All samples included at least 200 participants. Regarding trauma type, the highest number of individuals reported experiencing a traffic accident (n = 3,128) and/or physical assault (n = 2,609), and the fewest reported captivity (n = 575) and/or contributing to someone elses harm, injury, or death (n = 559). A symptom structure model based on DSM-5 criteria showed a satisfactory fit to the data, χ²(164, N = 4,064) = 2,571.18, p <.001, robust CFI =.931, robust RMSEA =.078, 90% CI [.075,.081], robust TLI =.920, SRMR =.037. Data fit and invariance were obtained with regard to identical structure and factor loadings (configural and metric invariance) as well as for the partial scalar invariance (equal intercepts). In all samples, PTSD symptoms were strongly or moderately positively correlated with levels of depressive, anxiety, and stress-related symptoms and moderately or weakly positively correlated with COVID-19–related stressors, emotional stability/neuroticism, and emotional reactivity. The results indicate that the PCL-5 is a generally effective measure of universal indicators of PTSD across different countries.

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Institute of Psychology, Advanced Clinical Studies and Therapy Excellence Center, SWPS University, Warsaw, Poland
Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University at Stark, Canton, OH, United States
Department of Psychological Sciences and Counseling, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, OH, United States
Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Department of Psychology, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, South Korea
School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Faculty of Social Sciences, Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Astana, Kazakhstan
Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
Department of Psychology, Karaganda Buketov University, Karaganda, Kazakhstan
School of Liberal Arts, M. Narikbayev KAZGUU University, Astana, Kazakhstan
Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, Toraighyrov University, Pavlodar, Kazakhstan
Department of Theoretical and Practical Pedagogy, Kazakh National Womens Pedagogical University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

Institute of Psychology
Faculty of Psychology
Department of Psychological Sciences
Department of Psychological Sciences and Counseling
Facultad de Psicología
Department of Psychology
School of Psychology
Faculty of Social Sciences
Faculty of Letters
Department of Psychology
School of Liberal Arts
Department of Psychology and Pedagogy
Department of Theoretical and Practical Pedagogy

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