Brief Description
The DSM-5 Cross-Cutting Symptom Measure - Adult (DSM-5 Level 1) assesses for symptoms across a broad range of mental health disorders. More specifically, it assesses symptoms across 13 psychiatric domains, including depression, anger, irritability, mania, anxiety, somatic symptoms, inattention, suicidal ideation, psychosis, sleep problems, memory, repetitive thoughts and behaviors, dissociation, personality functioning, and substance use. The DSM-5 Level 1 can function as a screening tool for several domains and/or be used to track overall symptoms over time. Respondents rate how much or how often they were bothered over the last 2 weeks by the symptoms listed (e.g., “Little interest or pleasure in doing things?”) on a scale from “Not at all/None” to “Nearly every day/Severe”.
Assessment Administration Type
Self-report
Number of questions
23
Age Range for Administration
18+
Recommended Frequency of Administration
While recommended as a screener on Blueprint, it also can be used as clinically indicated to track progress over time.
Summary of Scoring and Interpretations
The DSM-5 Level 1 contains 23 questions scored on a 5-point Likert scale from 0 (“Not at all/None”) to 4 ("Nearly every day/Severe"). The scores within each item within a domain should be reviewed. A rating of mild (i.e., 2) or greater on any item within a domain serves as a guide for additional inquiry/follow-up, with the exception of the substance use, suicidal ideation, and psychosis domains, where a score of slight (i.e., 1) or greater on any item serves as a guide for additional inquiry/follow-up; see table below for domains, their associated item numbers, and threshold for further inquiry.
Domain/Subscale | Corresponding Item | Threshold to Guide Further Inquiry |
Depression | 1, 2 | Mild or greater |
Anger | 3 | Mild or greater |
Mania | 4, 5 | Mild or greater |
Anxiety | 6, 7, 8 | Mild or greater |
Somatic Symptoms | 9, 10 | Mild or greater |
Suicidal Ideation | 11 | Slight or greater |
Psychosis | 12, 13 | Slight or greater |
Sleep Problems | 14 | Mild or greater |
Memory | 15 | Mild or greater |
Repetitive Thoughts and Behaviors | 16, 17 | Mild or greater |
Dissociation | 18 | Mild or greater |
Personality Functioning | 19, 20 | Mild or greater |
Substance Use | 21, 22, 23 | Slight or greater |
Blueprint Adjustments
Below is a table of recommended follow-up assessments for each domain if that domain screens positive.
Domain | If screened positive, recommended follow-up assessment |
Depression | Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) |
Anger | DSM-5 Level 2 Anger (DSM-5 II Ang) |
Mania | Altman Self-Report Mania Scale (ASRM) |
Anxiety | Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 item (GAD-7) |
Somatic Symptoms | DSM-5 Level 2 Somatic Symptoms (DSM-5 II Som) |
Suicidal Ideation | Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) |
Psychosis | Yale PRIME Early Psychosis Screening Test (Yale-PRIME) |
Sleep Problems | Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) |
Memory | Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ) |
Repetitive Thoughts and Behaviors | Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-12 (OCI-12) |
Dissociation | Dissociative Experiences Scale II (DES-II) |
Personality Functioning | Structured Assessment of Personality Scale- Abbreviated Scale (SAPAS) |
Substance Use | Brief Addiction Monitor (BAM) |
Clinical Considerations
Estimated completion time: 5-10 minutes
The DSM-5 Level 1 assesses mental health domains that are important across psychiatric diagnoses; it is intended to help clinicians identify additional areas of inquiry that may have significant impact on an individual’s treatment and prognosis.
There are child self-report and parent-report versions of the DSM-5 Level 1 Cross-Cutting Measure.
Citation
Relevant Articles + Further Resources
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