ptsd checklist 5 pcl 5

PTSD Checklist 5 (PCL-5)

health Service Life & Health Personality

Instructions:

In the past month, how much were you bothered by:

Not at allA little bitModeratelyQuite a bitExtremely
Repeated, disturbing, and unwanted memories of the stressful experience?01234
Repeated, disturbing dreams of the stressful experience?01234
Suddenly feeling or acting as if the stressful experience were actually happening again (as if you were actually back there reliving it)?01234
Feeling very upset when something reminded you of the stressful experience?01234
Having strong physical reactions when something reminded you of the stressful experience (for example, heart pounding, trouble breathing, sweating)?01234
Avoiding memories, thoughts, or feelings related to the stressful experience?01234
Avoiding external reminders of the stressful experience (for example, people, places, conversations, activities, objects, or situations)?01234
Trouble remembering important parts of the stressful experience?01234
Having strong negative beliefs about yourself, other people, or the work (for example, having thoughts such as: I am bad, there is something seriously wrong with me, no one can be trusted, the world is completely dangerous)?01234
Blaming yourself or someone else for the stressful experience or what happened after it?01234
Having strong negative feelings such as fear, horror, anger, guilt, or shame?01234
Loss of interest in activities that you used to enjoy?01234
Feeling distant or cut off from other people?01234
Trouble experiencing positive feelings (for example, being unable to feel happiness or have loving feelings for people close to you)?01234
Irritable behaviour, angry outbursts, or acting aggressively?01234
Taking too many risks or doing things that could cause you harm?01234
Being “superalert” or watchful or on guard?01234
Feeling jumpy or easily startled?01234
Having difficulty concentrating?01234
Trouble falling or staying asleep?01234

Description

The PCL-5 is a 20 item self-report measure of the 20 DSM-5 symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Included in the scale are four domains consistent with the four criterion of PTSD in DSM-5: – Re-experiencing (criterion B) – Avoidance (criterion C) – Negative alterations in cognition and mood (criterion D) – Hyper-arousal (criterion E) The PCL-5 can be used to monitor symptom change, to screen for PTSD, or to make a provisional PTSD diagnosis.

Validity and Reliability

The PCL-5 is a relatively new scale (released in 2013), therefore only preliminary validation is currently available. Validation research points to the clinical utility of the PCL-5. All four criterion scales demonstrate high internal consistency (Cohen et al., 2015). There was also a high correlation of PTSD prevalence in a student sample (n = 2490) between the symptom severity (1.4% meeting PTSD criteria) and diagnostic classification scoring methods (1.3% meeting PTSD criteria) (Cohen et al., 2015).

Interpretation

Scores consist of a total symptom severity score (from 0 to 80) and scores for four subscales: – Re-experiencing (items 1-5 – max score = 20) – Avoidance (items 6-7 – max score = 8) – Negative alterations in cognition and mood (items 8-14 – max score = 28) – Hyper-arousal (items 15-20 – max score = 24) In addition to a raw score being presented, a “mean score” is also computed, which is the subscale score divided by the number of items. These scores range between 0 to 5, where higher scores represent higher severity. Consistent with the likert scale: 0 = Not at all 1 = A little bit 2 = Moderately 3 = Quite a bit 4 = Extremely A provisional PTSD diagnosis can be made by treating each item rated as 2=”Moderately” or higher as an endorsed symptom, then following the DSM-5 diagnostic rule which requires at least: 1 B item (questions 1-5), 1 C item (questions 6-7), 2 D items (questions 8-14), 2 E items (questions 15-20). A cut-off raw score is 38 for a provisional diagnosis of PTSD. This cut-off has high sensitivity (.78) and specificity (.98) (Cohen et al., 2015). If the scale is used to track symptoms over time, a minimum 10 point change represents clinically significant change (as based on the PCL for DSM-IV change scores).

Developer

Weathers, F.W., Litz, B.T., Keane, T.M., Palmieri, P.A., Marx, B.P., & Schnurr, P.P. (2013).The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Scale available from the National Center for PTSD at www.ptsd.va.gov.

Number Of Questions

20

References

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/assessment/adult-sr/ptsd-checklist.asp Cohen, J., et al. (2015). Preliminary Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of the PTSD Checklist for DSM – 5. (Conference Presentation). doi: 10.12140/2.1.4448.5444

Developer Reference:

Weathers, F.W., Litz, B.T., Keane, T.M., Palmieri, P.A., Marx, B.P., & Schnurr, P.P. (2013).The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Scale available from the National Center for PTSD at www.ptsd.va.gov.

Cite this article

mohammad looti (2026). PTSD Checklist 5 (PCL-5). PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Retrieved from https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/ptsd-checklist-5-pcl-5/

mohammad looti. "PTSD Checklist 5 (PCL-5)." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 2 Apr. 2026, https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/ptsd-checklist-5-pcl-5/.

mohammad looti. "PTSD Checklist 5 (PCL-5)." PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, 2026. https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/ptsd-checklist-5-pcl-5/.

mohammad looti (2026) 'PTSD Checklist 5 (PCL-5)', PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. Available at: https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/ptsd-checklist-5-pcl-5/.

[1] mohammad looti, "PTSD Checklist 5 (PCL-5)," PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES, vol. X, no. Y, ص Z-Z, April, 2026.

mohammad looti. PTSD Checklist 5 (PCL-5). PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES. 2026;vol(issue):pages.

Related terms:

  1. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL-5)
  2. Hare Psychopathy Checklist – Revised (PCL-R)
  3. Young Child PTSD Checklist
  4. Child PTSD Symptom Scale (CPSS)
  5. UCLA PTSD Reaction Index
  6. Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-5)
  7. Young Child PTSD Screen
  8. Checklist Individuele Spankracht / Checklist Individual Strength
  9. PTSD Symptom Scale Interview (PSS-I)
  10. Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC)
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