Yuriko Suzuki1, Hirooki Yabe2, Naoko Horikoshi3, Seiji Yasumura3, Norito Kawakami4, Akira Ohtsuru5, Hirobumi Mashiko6, Masaharu Maeda7. 1. Department of Adult Mental Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan. 2. Department of Neuropsychiatry, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan. 3. Department of Public Health, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan. 4. Department of Mental Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan. 5. Department of Radiation Health Management, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan. 6. Fukushima Prefecture Developmental Disability Support Center, Koriyama, Fukushima, Japan. 7. Department of Disaster Psychiatry, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist (PCL) has been widely used among traumatized populations to screen people with PTSD; however, the Japanese version of the PCL has yet to be validated. We examined the diagnostic accuracy of the Japanese version PCL-Specific (PCL-S) and the abbreviated versions of the PCL-S among the evacuees of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. METHODS: Fifty-one participants were recruited from an evacuee and clinical sample. The PCL-S, Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview were administered. Screening properties of the PCL-S, IES-R, and abbreviated PCL-S against PTSD diagnosis, including sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic efficiency, were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic curves were drawn, and optimal cutoff points were examined. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic efficiency of the PCL-S were 66.7%, 84.9%, and 79.2%, respectively (at 52, the area under the curve was 0.83). The cutoff point method for the PCL-S performed better than did the symptom cluster method. The screening properties of the abbreviated versions were comparable with those of the full version. CONCLUSIONS: The Japanese version of the PCL-S showed moderate diagnostic accuracy and improved performance over the IES-R for PTSD diagnosis based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition. The Japanese version of the PCL-S was a reliable and valid measure, and its diagnostic accuracy was reasonable for both full and abbreviated versions.
BACKGROUND: The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist (PCL) has been widely used among traumatized populations to screen people with PTSD; however, the Japanese version of the PCL has yet to be validated. We examined the diagnostic accuracy of the Japanese version PCL-Specific (PCL-S) and the abbreviated versions of the PCL-S among the evacuees of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. METHODS: Fifty-one participants were recruited from an evacuee and clinical sample. The PCL-S, Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview were administered. Screening properties of the PCL-S, IES-R, and abbreviated PCL-S against PTSD diagnosis, including sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic efficiency, were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic curves were drawn, and optimal cutoff points were examined. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic efficiency of the PCL-S were 66.7%, 84.9%, and 79.2%, respectively (at 52, the area under the curve was 0.83). The cutoff point method for the PCL-S performed better than did the symptom cluster method. The screening properties of the abbreviated versions were comparable with those of the full version. CONCLUSIONS: The Japanese version of the PCL-S showed moderate diagnostic accuracy and improved performance over the IES-R for PTSD diagnosis based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition. The Japanese version of the PCL-S was a reliable and valid measure, and its diagnostic accuracy was reasonable for both full and abbreviated versions.