DSM-5 Excludes Many with Previous PTSD Diagnosis

The definition of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) underwent substantial changes in the 2013 edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).

How this will affect estimates of prevalence, whether clinical utility has been improved, and how many individuals who meet symptom criteria according to the previous definition will not meet new criteria is unknown.

Updated screening instruments, including the PTSD checklist (PCL), have not been compared with previously validated methods through head-to-head comparisons.

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