VALIDATION OF KNOWLEDGE OF PTSD QUESTIONNAIRE AMONG MALAYSIAN ADULTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37268/mjphm/vol.26/no.2/art.3136Keywords:
PTSD, validity, reliability, questionnaireAbstract
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has a significant global prevalence and is increasingly recognised as an important mental health condition in Malaysia. This study aimed to validate an adapted PTSD Knowledge Questionnaire for use among Malaysian adults. The original 43-item self-rated tool assesses three domains: recognition of traumatic events, PTSD symptoms, and PTSD treatments. The questionnaire was reviewed by experts for content validity and adapted for cultural relevance to the Malaysian population, resulting in a refined 28-item questionnaire. A total of 105 Malaysian adults completed the questionnaire through online convenience sampling. Construct validity was assessed using Exploratory Factor Analysis, identifying two components within each domain, such as differentiating severe trauma from less impactful events, core PTSD symptoms from unrelated psychological characteristics, and separating evidence-based treatments from other interventions. The questionnaire demonstrated excellent internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.948, and excellent test-retest reliability, with an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.92 (p<0.001). These findings establish that the adapted questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool for assessing PTSD knowledge among Malaysian adults and suggest its potential usefulness in identifying knowledge gaps and guiding educational interventions.
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