The validation of the polish version of the posttraumatic diagnostic scale and its factor structure

Abstract

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. © 2012 Małgorzata Dragan et al.