Brief Description
The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) Monthly version assesses the presence and severity of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It helps in screening individuals for PTSD, monitoring symptom changes over time, and evaluating treatment outcomes. Included in the scale are four domains consistent with the four criterion of PTSD in DSM-5: re-experiencing the event, avoidance of trauma-related stimuli, negative alterations in cognition and mood, and alterations in arousal and reactivity. Respondents rate how often they have been bothered by the trauma symptoms listed (e.g., “Repeated, disturbing, and unwanted memories of the stressful experience?”) on a scale from “Not at all” to “Extremely.”
Assessment Administration Type
Self-report
Number of questions
20
Age Range for Administration
18+
Recommended Frequency of Administration
Monthly
Summary of Scoring and Interpretations
The PCL-5 (Monthly) contains 20 questions scored on a 5-point Likert scale with values from 0 (“Not at all”) to 4 (“Extremely”). A total score is calculated by summing the item responses and ranges from 0 to 80; higher scores are associated with higher levels of, or more severe, PTSD symptoms. While there is no one specified cut-off for the total score of the PCL-5 as it may vary depending on the client and the situation, research suggests that a score of 31-33 or above is clinically significant and indicative of PTSD.
Subscale scores also can be examined and are calculated as average scores from the corresponding items. See table below for subscales and associated items:
Subscale | Items |
Intrusion | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
Avoidance | 6, 7 |
Alterations in cognition & mood | 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 |
Alterations in arousal & reactivity | 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 |
Blueprint Adjustments
Blueprint has set the cut-off as 32; scores below 32 are interpreted as "sub-clinical" and scores of 32 and above are interpreted as "clinically significant."
Clinical Considerations
Estimated completion time: 5-8 minutes
There is also a weekly PCL-5 that asks about symptoms over the past 7 days (PCL-5, weekly), a Spanish version (PCL-5 Spanish), and a version with a Life Events Screening (PCL-5+) that are all available on Blueprint.
The PCL-5 (Monthly) can be used to assess the change in PTSD symptoms over time. A reduction of 5 points has been suggested to reflect a positive response to treatment and a 10-point reduction reflects clinically significant change.
Citation
Relevant Articles + Further Resources
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