The Psychometric Properties of the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale–Interview Based on DSM-5, in Military Personnel Participated in Warfare

Aims: This study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptom scale-interview for DSM-5 (PSS-I-5) in military personnel involved in warfare. Instrument & Methods: This was a validation study. A descriptive research method was used. The participants in this study consisted of 287 veterans with PTSD who referred to (505 Army Psychiatric Hospital) selected using the availability sampling method. The instruments used in this study included the PSS-I-5 scale as the main research tools, Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) assessed the convergent validity, and PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (‏PCL-M-5‎‏) and Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for ‎DSM-5 (CAPS-5) were also used to measure simultaneous validity. The data were analyzed using the correlation coefficient and the Cronbachchr('39')s alpha methods. Findings: The results demonstrated that Cronbachchr('39')s alpha of the PSS-I-5 scale was at a desirable level (α=0.91). PSS-I-5 had good convergent and divergent validity. The sensitivity of PSS-I-5 was equal to 0.97%, and its specificity was obtained to be 0.62%. Further, the analysis of the results revealed that PSS-I-5 could differentiate between sick and healthy individuals. Conclusion: The PSS-I-5 scale has desirable reliability and validity for military personnel participating in the war and can be used to identify and screen military personnel involved in warfare and military missions.