Jr. Scotti et al., THE KEANE PTSD SCALE EXTRACTED FROM THE MMPI - SENSITIVITY AND SPECIFICITY WITH VIETNAM VETERANS, Journal of traumatic stress, 9(3), 1996, pp. 643-650
A study was conducted to further investigate whether the Keane Posttra
umatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Scale of the Minnesota Multiphasic Perso
nality Inventory (MMPI) can be employed as a separate instrument admin
istered outside the context of the full MMPI. A group of Vietnam comba
t veterans with diagnosed PTSD and two comparison groups of veterans w
ithout PTSD (Vietnam combat and era veterans) were diagnosed by clinic
al interviews. Over 84% of the 64 veterans in the study were accuratel
y classified by the Keane PTSD Scale into their original diagnostic gr
oups. Excellent test sensitivity was demonstrated, with 90% of combat
veterans with PTSD being properly classified by the Keane PTSD Scale w
hen the recommended cutoff score of 30 was utilized. The clinical and
research implications are discussed.