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.
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)
There are two methods for determining a provisional PTSD diagnosis.
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).
Examine items 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).