PTSD Checklist Calculator

The checklist consists in 17 items that correspond to the key symptoms of PTSD as defined by DSM-5 criteria. You are asked to consider how bothered you have been by each symptom over the past month and choose an answer on a 5-point scale:

• Not at all (1);
• A little bit (2);
• Moderately (3);
• Quite a bit (4);
• Extremely (5).

Whilst the checklist may be scored with a final score of up to 85, where the higher the score, the greater the impact of PTSD symptoms, a positive PTSD diagnosis is valid if all three of the below apply:

• At least 1 answer of 3, 4 or 5 points at questions 1 to 5;
• At least 3 answers of 3, 4 or 5 points at questions 6 to 12;
• At least 2 answers of 3, 4 or 5 points at questions 13 to 17.

The criterion categories from the DSM-5 include:

1. Criterion A: stressor - The person was exposed to: death, threatened death, actual or threatened serious injury, or actual or threatened sexual violence.
2. Criterion B: intrusion symptoms - The traumatic event is persistently re-experienced (e.g. upsetting memories, nightmares).
3. Criterion C: avoidance - Avoidance of trauma-related stimuli after the trauma.
4. Criterion D: negative alterations in cognitions and mood - Negative thoughts or feelings that began or worsened after the trauma.
5. Criterion E: alterations in arousal and reactivity - Trauma-related arousal and reactivity that began or worsened after the trauma.
6. Criterion F: duration - Symptoms last for more than 1 month. 
7. Criterion G: functional significance - Symptoms create distress or functional impairment (e.g. social, occupational).
8. Criterion  H: exclusion - Symptoms are not due to medication, substance use, or other illness. 

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596 

Weathers, F. W., Litz, B. T., Keane, T. M., Palmieri, P. A., Marx, B. P., & Schnurr, P. P. (2014, February 5). PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). National Center for PTSD.