Comparing alternative factor models of PTSD symptoms across earthquake victims and violent riot witnesses in China: Evidence for a five-factor model proposed by Elhai et al. (2011)

The present study investigated the factor structure of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms measured by the PTSD Checklist (PCL) in two large samples exposed to different traumatic events (an earthquake and a violent riot) from China. Despite the samples’ difference in type of trauma, demographics, symptom severity, and elapsed time since trauma exposure, the results of a series of confirmatory factor analyses indicate that a five-factor intercorrelated model (intrusion, avoidance, numbing, dysphoric arousal, and anxious arousal) fit the data significantly better than the other alternative models including: the three-factor DSM-IV model, the four-factor numbing model ( King et al., 1998), and the four-factor dysphoria model (Simms et al., 2002) in both samples. Implications and limitations regarding the results are discussed.

► The 4-factor numbing model fit better than the 4-factor dysphoria model in a earthquake survivor sample.
► The 4-factor dysphoria model fit better than the 4-factor numbing model in a violent riot victim sample.
► A 5-factor PTSD model fit significantly better than four-factor models in both samples.