Differential predictors of DSM-5 PTSD and ICD-11 complex PTSD among African American women

Background: Complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) is proposed for inclusion in the ICD-11 as a diagnosis distinct from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), reflecting deficits in affective, self-concept, and relational domains. There remains significant controversy over whether CPTSD provides useful diagnostic information beyond PTSD and other comorbid conditions, such as depression or substance use disorders. Objective: The present study examined differences in psychiatric presentation for three groups: traumatized controls, DSM-5 PTSD subjects, and ICD-11 CPTSD subjects. Method: The sample included 190 African American women recruited from an urban public hospital where rates of trauma exposure are high. PTSD was measured using Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 and CPTSD was measured using clinician administered ICD-Trauma Interview. Psychiatric diagnoses and emotion dysregulation were also assessed. In a subset of women (n = 60), emotion recognition was measured using the Penn Emotion Recognition Task. Results: There were significant differences across groups on current and lifetime major depression (p p Conclusions: Our results suggest clear, clinically-relevant differences between PTSD and CPTSD, and highlight the need for further research on this topic with other traumatized populations, particularly studies that combine clinical and neurobiological data.