Convergent validity of measures of PTSD in Vietnam combat veterans

The authors evaluated the convergent validity of several widely used psychometric tests of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms against DSM-III-R criteria for PTSD in 130 Vietnam combat veterans. Significant positive correlations were found between these instruments and the number of DSM-III-R symptoms endorsed, supporting the validity of psychometric instruments as continuous measures of PTSD symptom severity. The various psychometric measures also correlated moderately with one another, suggesting that they assess related but somewhat separate PTSD phenomena. Finally, predicted relationships between stressors and symptoms were supported by significant correlations between degree of traumatic combat exposure and DSM-III-R and psychometric indexes of PTSD.