Below is a list of problems that people sometimes have in response to a very stressful experience. Keeping your worst event in mind, please read each problem carefully and then select one of the numbers to the right to indicate how much you have been bothered by that problem in the past month.
Report details · optional
Shown on the report and stored with the screening record. Use initials or a code, not full names.
Answers, results and report details are recorded by OpenScreener to monitor and improve the service. Privacy
About this screener — evidence, source, alternatives
A 20-item self-report measure of the 20 DSM-5 PTSD symptoms, from the US VA National Center for PTSD. Used to screen for PTSD, make a provisional diagnosis, and monitor symptom change during and after treatment. Scored as a total (0–80), DSM-5 cluster scores, and the DSM-5 symptom rule.
Evidence · validated
In 468 VA veterans, PCL-5 scores showed high internal consistency (α = .96) and test–retest reliability (r = .84); against the CAPS-5, scores of 31–33 were optimally efficient for diagnosing PTSD (Bovin et al., Psychol Assess 2016). Initial development and validation in Blevins et al. (2015); also validated in treatment-seeking service members (Wortmann et al., 2016).
Free alternative to
- Trauma Symptom Inventory-2 (TSI-2) · PAR
Paid adult trauma-symptom inventory; the PCL-5 is the free, DSM-5-aligned alternative for PTSD symptoms.
Source & licence
Weathers FW, Litz BT, Keane TM, Palmieri PA, Marx BP, Schnurr PP. The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) [Measurement instrument]. 2013. Available from https://www.ptsd.va.gov. Blevins CA, et al. J Trauma Stress. 2015;28(6):489–498.
Licence: Public domain — developed by staff at the US VA National Center for PTSD and not copyrighted
Past-month version without Criterion A. The VA states the measure is intended for use by qualified health professionals and researchers, and that interpretation should be made by a clinician.
Official source ↗