Calculators / Anxiety and trauma

PC-PTSD-5

Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5. Brief PTSD screen.

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The PC-PTSD-5 calculator is in the Library.

Every rating scale calculator comes with the Library, along with the prescribing guides, medication handouts, DSM-5 criteria and sheets, and the Guide Builder.

Use it for

  • Screening for probable PTSD in primary care, mental health intake and veterans' care.
  • Deciding who should have a longer assessment such as the PCL-5 or a structured interview.
  • Prompting a conversation about trauma.

Do not use it for

  • Diagnosing PTSD. A positive screen is a prompt for an assessment.
  • Measuring severity or tracking treatment. Use the PCL-5 for that.
  • Verifying that the trauma meets the DSM-5 Criterion A definition.

Start with the first question. If the answer is no, the screen is done. If it is yes, the five symptom questions follow, and they refer to the past month.

Sometimes things happen to people that are unusually or especially frightening, horrible, or traumatic. For example: a serious accident or fire; a physical or sexual assault or abuse; an earthquake or flood; a war; seeing someone be killed or seriously injured; having a loved one die through homicide or suicide. Have you ever experienced this kind of event?

Symptoms in the past month

In the past month, have you...

1Had nightmares about the event(s) or thought about the event(s) when you did not want to?
2Tried hard not to think about the event(s) or went out of your way to avoid situations that reminded you of the event(s)?
3Been constantly on guard, watchful, or easily startled?
4Felt numb or detached from people, activities, or your surroundings?
5Felt guilty or unable to stop blaming yourself or others for the event(s) or any problems the event(s) may have caused?

PC-PTSD-5

Answer the questions to see the result.

This calculator adds up the score in your browser. Nothing you enter is stored or sent.

More about the PC-PTSD-5

About the PC-PTSD-5What it is and what it is for

The PC-PTSD-5 is a five-question yes or no screen for probable PTSD, written for primary care and mental health settings and updated for DSM-5. It starts by asking whether the person has ever experienced an unusually frightening, horrible or traumatic event. Only people who say yes go on to the five symptom questions, which cover the past month.

Each yes counts as one point. A total of 3 or more is the recommended cutoff for a positive screen. The National Center for PTSD describes 3 as the most sensitive cutoff and 4 as the most efficient.

How to use itGiving it and scoring it

Ask the first question exactly as written. If the answer is yes, ask each of the five symptom questions for the past month. Add one point for each yes.

A total of 3 or more is a positive screen.

Interpreting the scoreScore ranges and what they suggest
Yes answersWhat it suggestsUsual response
0 to 2Negative screenFewer than 3 symptom groups endorsed.No further PTSD assessment from the screen alone.
3Positive at the sensitive cutoffProbable PTSD. Cutoff of 3 maximizes sensitivity.Follow with a PCL-5 and a clinical interview.
4 to 5Positive at 4 or moreProbable PTSD. Cutoff of 4 gives the best balance of sensitivity and specificity.Follow with a PCL-5 and a clinical interview. Assess safety and comorbidity.

People who answer no to the first question score 0 and the screen is complete. Cutoffs are from the National Center for PTSD scoring guidance.

Pearls and pitfallsTips and common mistakes
  • It is a screen for probable PTSD. Follow every positive with the PCL-5 and an interview.
  • Some clinics use a cutoff of 4 to cut false positives when a long assessment is costly. Say which one your setting uses.
  • Be gentle with the first question. People often have more to say after the form than on it.
  • Item 5 (guilt and self-blame) and item 4 (numbing) are easy to miss in a short visit and common in people with PTSD.
EvidenceAccuracy and reliability
  • In 398 veterans in primary care (Prins 2016), the PC-PTSD-5 had an area under the curve of 0.94 against a structured interview for DSM-5 PTSD. A cutoff of 3 maximized sensitivity, 4 gave the best efficiency, and 5 maximized specificity.
  • A later multi-site veteran study (Bovin 2021) examined accuracy by sex and found that the best cutoff may differ for women and men.
  • The earlier PC-PTSD (DSM-IV) used four items and a cutoff of 3. The DSM-5 version added a fifth item on guilt and blame.
Source, license and referencesWhere it comes from

The PC-PTSD-5 was developed by the National Center for PTSD, US Department of Veterans Affairs, and is a US government work. It is in the public domain and may be used without permission.

  1. Prins A, Bovin MJ, Smolenski DJ, et al. The Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5): development and evaluation within a veteran primary care sample. J Gen Intern Med. 2016;31(10):1206-1211.
  2. Bovin MJ, Kimerling R, Weathers FW, et al. Diagnostic accuracy and acceptability of the Primary Care Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Screen for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition) among US veterans. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(2):e2036733.
  3. National Center for PTSD. Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5). US Department of Veterans Affairs.

Clinical decision support, not a diagnosis. Each calculator scores a published scale the way its authors intended. A score informs a clinical interview and examination and never replaces them. If you are a patient using this page, please review the result with your clinician. In an emergency, call 911 or call or text 988 in the United States.