The validation of the Polish version of the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale and its factor structure

Background: Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale (PDS) is a self-descriptive measure developed to provide information regarding posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis and symptom severity. Objectives: The aim of this article is to report on the validation of the Polish version of PDS and to test its factor structure with reference to two models: an original three-factor model (Reexperiencing, Avoidance, and Arousal) and alternative five-factor model (Reexperiencing, Avoidance, Numbing, Dysphoric Arousal, and Anxious Arousal). Method: The validation procedure included three studies conducted on samples of separate populations: university-level students ( n =507), individuals who had experienced various traumas ( n =320), and treatmentseeking survivors of motor vehicle accidents (MVA) ( n =302). Various other measures of trauma-related psychopathology were administered to participants, as well as the PTSD module of the Structured Clinical Interview (SCID) in the case of MVA patients. Results: PDS showed high internal consistency and test–retest reliability, good diagnostic agreement with SCID, good sensitivity but relatively low specificity. The satisfactory convergent validity was supported by a large number of significant correlations with other measures of trauma-related psychopathology. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) generally confirmed both the three-factor structure and the alternative five-factor structure of the questionnaire. Conclusions: The results show generally good psychometric properties of the Polish version of PDS. Keywords: posttraumatic stress disorder; PDS; questionnaire; validity; reliability; factor analysis For the abstract or full text in other languages, please see Supplementary files in the column to the right (under Article Tools). (Published: 9 August 2012) Citation: European Journal of Psychotraumatology 2012, 3 : 18479 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/ejpt.v3i0.18479