THE KEANE PTSD SCALE EXTRACTED FROM THE MMPI - SENSITIVITY AND SPECIFICITY WITH VIETNAM VETERANS

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.