The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for <i>DSM‐5</i> (PCL‐5): Development and Initial Psychometric Evaluation

<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL) is a widely used <jats:italic>DSM</jats:italic>‐correspondent self‐report measure of PTSD symptoms. The PCL was recently revised to reflect <jats:italic>DSM‐5</jats:italic> changes to the PTSD criteria. In this article, the authors describe the development and initial psychometric evaluation of the PCL for <jats:italic>DSM‐5</jats:italic> (PCL‐5). Psychometric properties of the PCL‐5 were examined in 2 studies involving trauma‐exposed college students. In Study 1 (<jats:italic>N</jats:italic> = 278), PCL‐5 scores exhibited strong internal consistency (α = .94), test‐retest reliability (<jats:italic>r</jats:italic> = .82), and convergent (<jats:italic>r</jats:italic>s = .74 to .85) and discriminant (<jats:italic>r</jats:italic>s = .31 to .60) validity. In addition, confirmatory factor analyses indicated adequate fit with the <jats:italic>DSM‐5</jats:italic> 4‐factor model, χ<jats:sup>2</jats:sup>(164) = 455.83, <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < .001, standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = .07, root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA) = .08, comparative fit index (CFI) = .86, and Tucker‐Lewis index (TLI) = .84, and superior fit with recently proposed 6‐factor, χ<jats:sup>2</jats:sup> (164) = 318.37, <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < .001, SRMR = .05, RMSEA = .06, CFI = .92, and TLI = .90, and 7‐factor, χ<jats:sup>2</jats:sup> (164) = 291.32, <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < .001, SRMR = .05, RMSEA = .06, CFI = .93, and TLI = .91, models. In Study 2 (<jats:italic>N</jats:italic> = 558), PCL‐5 scores demonstrated similarly strong reliability and validity. Overall, results indicate that the PCL‐5 is a psychometrically sound measure of PTSD symptoms. Implications for use of the PCL‐5 in a variety of assessment contexts are discussed.</jats:p>