In this study psychometric properties of seven self-report measures of 
posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were compared. The seven scales evaluated 
were the Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS), the PTSD Checklist (PCL), the 
Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale (PDS), the Civilian Mississippi Scale 
(CMS), the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), the Penn Inventory for 
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (Penn), and the PK scale of the MMPI-2 (PK). 
Participants were 239 (79 male and 160 female) trauma-exposed undergraduates. 
All seven measures exhibited good test-retest reliability and internal 
consistency. The PDS, PCL and DTS demonstrated the best convergent validity; the 
IES-R, PDS, and PCL demonstrated the best discriminant validity; and the PDS, 
PCL, and IES-R demonstrated the best diagnostic utility. Overall, results most 
strongly support the use of the PDS and the PCL for the assessment of PTSD in 
this population.