PCL-5 PTSD Checklist Assessment

Introduction:

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop after exposure to violence, disaster, or extreme threat. Clinicians often use the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) to quantify symptom frequency over the previous month. The checklist’s 20 statements map to diagnostic criteria, providing a structured snapshot of intrusion, avoidance, negative cognition, and hyper-arousal.

This tool presents each PCL-5 statement and asks you to rate how much it bothered you from 0 (not at all) to 4 (extremely). It instantly sums the twenty responses, classifies the overall severity band, and checks whether each DSM-5 symptom cluster meets recommended thresholds, updating a gauge and radar visual as answers change.

You might use the checklist after a traumatic event to monitor recovery, or share the results with a counsellor when deciding whether to seek care. Sharing trend data can also help therapy measure progress. Scores indicate symptom severity, not destiny. Results do not constitute a clinical diagnosis and cannot replace personalised assessment by a licensed mental-health professional.

Technical Details:

Post-traumatic stress symptom screening hinges on quantifying how often intrusive memories, avoidance, negative cognition, and hyper-arousal occur after trauma. The PCL-5 operationalises this by assigning a 0–4 score to twenty DSM-5-aligned items collected over the previous month. Summing the items yields a total severity index, while grouping specific items into clusters B through E supports diagnostic threshold checks and treatment monitoring. Clinicians and researchers rely on that index to track change and evaluate intervention effectiveness.

• S_i – your 0–4 rating for item i.
• T – total symptom severity score.
• Cluster B–E counts – number of items scoring ≥ 2 within each DSM-5 group.
• Average cluster score – mean of ratings per cluster (0–4).

Assumptions & Limitations:

• Self-report accuracy varies with insight and honesty.
• Timeframe limited to the past month.
• Trauma exposure (Criterion A) is assumed.
• Distress/impairment (Criterion G) not measured directly.

Edge Cases & Error Sources:

• All zeros yield T = 0 but do not exclude trauma history.
• Uniform fours may signal acute crisis needing immediate help.
• Partial completion invalidates cluster logic.
• Non-English comprehension issues can skew ratings.

Based on the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, Weathers et al. (2013), and validation studies in civilian and military samples.

No personally identifiable information is required; usage aligns with GDPR principles for local processing of sensitive data.

Step-by-Step Guide:

Answering follows a simple linear flow; you may change selections at any time before reviewing the summary.

1. Tap Start Assessment to reveal the first statement.
2. Select a response on the 0–4 scale for each of the 20 statements.
3. Use the item list to revisit any question until all checkmarks appear.
4. Review your total score gauge, cluster radar, and plain-language summary.
5. If results suggest moderate or severe distress, consider sharing them with a qualified professional.

FAQ:

Glossary:

PTSD

An anxiety disorder arising after traumatic events.

PCL-5

20-item self-report tool for PTSD symptoms.

DSM-5

Fifth edition of the psychiatric diagnostic manual.

Symptom cluster

Grouped items reflecting specific PTSD criteria.

Severity band

Category derived from total score thresholds.