Examining the factor structure of PTSD between male and female veterans in primary care

The present study assessed potential gender differences between the two prevailing PTSD models – the emotional numbing (King, Leskin, King, & Weathers, 1998) and dysphoria (Simms, Watson, & Doebbelling, 2002) models – in order to establish whether one model is superior with regard to its cross-gender generalizability. The sample included 188 female and 690 male trauma-exposed United States Veterans presenting to Veterans Affairs primary care medical clinics. Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses with covariates (MIMIC models) were conducted using the PTSD Checklist. The covariates included were socio-demographic variables and the type of traumatic event experienced. The emotional numbing model was statistically superior for men, but no difference between models was noted for females. After controlling for model covariates, men reported higher item-level severity and women had larger residual error variances and larger factor variances and covariances in the emotional numbing model. These results suggest partial generalizability of the emotional numbing model across gender.

► Potential gender differences in the PTSD factor structure were evaluated using the PCL-M. ► The sample consisted of 690 male and 188 female trauma-exposed United States Veterans. ► A CFA was conducted, controlling for covariates that may confound the effect of gender on the PTSD factor structure. ► The four-factor numbing model of PTSD provided the best fit for males and females. ► Invariance testing indicated that this model was partially equivalent between groups.