PTSD Checklist 5 (PCL-5)

Instructions:

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

Not at all A little bit Moderately Quite a bit Extremely
Repeated, disturbing, and unwanted memories of the stressful experience? 0 1 2 3 4
Repeated, disturbing dreams of the stressful experience? 0 1 2 3 4
Suddenly feeling or acting as if the stressful experience were actually happening again (as if you were actually back there reliving it)? 0 1 2 3 4
Feeling very upset when something reminded you of the stressful experience? 0 1 2 3 4
Having strong physical reactions when something reminded you of the stressful experience (for example, heart pounding, trouble breathing, sweating)? 0 1 2 3 4
Avoiding memories, thoughts, or feelings related to the stressful experience? 0 1 2 3 4
Avoiding external reminders of the stressful experience (for example, people, places, conversations, activities, objects, or situations)? 0 1 2 3 4
Trouble remembering important parts of the stressful experience? 0 1 2 3 4
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)? 0 1 2 3 4
Blaming yourself or someone else for the stressful experience or what happened after it? 0 1 2 3 4
Having strong negative feelings such as fear, horror, anger, guilt, or shame? 0 1 2 3 4
Loss of interest in activities that you used to enjoy? 0 1 2 3 4
Feeling distant or cut off from other people? 0 1 2 3 4
Trouble experiencing positive feelings (for example, being unable to feel happiness or have loving feelings for people close to you)? 0 1 2 3 4
Irritable behaviour, angry outbursts, or acting aggressively? 0 1 2 3 4
Taking too many risks or doing things that could cause you harm? 0 1 2 3 4
Being “superalert” or watchful or on guard? 0 1 2 3 4
Feeling jumpy or easily startled? 0 1 2 3 4
Having difficulty concentrating? 0 1 2 3 4
Trouble falling or staying asleep? 0 1 2 3 4

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.

This content is licensed under a CC-BY license. The CC-BY licenses grant rights of use the scales in your studies (the measurement instrument and its documentation), but do not replace copyright. This remains with the copyright holder, and you have to cite us as the source.

Mohammed Looti, PSYCHOLOGICAL SCALES (2023) PTSD Checklist 5 (PCL-5). Retrieved from https://scales.arabpsychology.com/s/ptsd-checklist-5-pcl-5/. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.31575.96163

Related terms:

  1. Hare Psychopathy Checklist – Revised (PCL-R)
  2. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL-5)
  3. Young Child PTSD Checklist
  4. PTSD Symptom Scale Interview (PSS-I)
  5. UCLA PTSD Reaction Index
  6. Child PTSD Symptom Scale (CPSS)
  7. Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS-5)
  8. Young Child PTSD Screen
  9. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  10. POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD)