Exploring differences between the ICD-11 and DSM-5 models of PTSD: Does it matter which model is used?

•A significantly greater proportion of childhood sexual abuse victims met caseness for DSM-5 PTSD compared to ICD-11 PTSD, based on the use of self-report measures.•Replacement of the ‘recurrent nightmares’ symptom with ‘recurrent thoughts/memories’ seemed to balance the proportion of individuals meeting caseness for both DSM and ICD taxonomies.•The DSM-5 symptom profile of PTSD produced significantly higher levels of co-occurrence with anxiety and thought disorder compared to the ICD-11 model.•Both the DSM-5 and ICD-11 models of PTSD displayed high levels of co-occurrence with other internalising disorders.

Alternative symptom profiles for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are presented in the DSM-5 and ICD-11. This study compared DSM-5 PTSD symptom profiles with ICD-11 PTSD symptom profiles among a large group of trauma-exposed individuals from Denmark. Covariates, and rates of co-occurrence with other psychiatric disorders were also investigated. A sample of treatment-seeking adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse (n = 434) were assessed using self-report measures of PTSD and other psychiatric disorders. A significantly larger proportion of individuals met caseness for DSM-5 PTSD (60.0%) compared to ICD-11 PTSD (49.1%). This difference was largely attributable to low endorsement of the ICD-11 re-experiencing criteria. Replacement of the ‘recurrent nightmares’ symptom with the ‘recurrent thoughts/memories’ symptom seemed to balance the proportion of individuals meeting caseness for both taxonomies. Levels of co-occurrence with anxiety and thought disorder were higher for the DSM-5 model of PTSD compared to the ICD-11 model. Current results merit careful consideration in the selection of symptom indicators for the new ICD model of PTSD, particularly with respect to the re-experiencing symptom category.