Trauma, PTSD and dissociation
Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5)
Trauma-related symptom screening followed by clinical assessment
Reference information · Questionnaire
- Last content update
- 2026-10-26
- Clinical review
- Not independently reviewed
- Source jurisdiction
- See individual sources
- Coverage
- Questionnaire
| Field | Instrument context |
|---|---|
| Version | National Center for PTSD; English 2022 version |
| Population | Adults; threshold evidence is population-specific |
| Respondent | Self-report or clinician-administered screen |
| Recall period | Lifetime exposure; past month symptoms |
| Purpose | Trauma-related symptom screening followed by clinical assessment |
Assessment tool
A total does not establish individual item responses.
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. If no, screen total = 0. Please stop here. If yes, please answer the questions below. In the past month, have you…
PC-PTSD-5 (2022), National Center for PTSD; Prins and colleagues.
Responses stay in this page’s memory. Reset or leave the page to clear them. No patient identifiers are collected.
Interpretation & limitations
- The score counts YES answers to the five symptom questions; the exposure question contributes no point.
- VA primary-care research found 4 balanced false positives and false negatives overall and for men; this threshold may miss more women. Select thresholds using population and screening purpose.
- A screening result requires clinical interpretation and does not establish PTSD or exclude clinical concerns.
- Do not treat the VA primary-care threshold as universally validated in India or other populations.
- Positive screening findings require further assessment, preferably a structured interview.
References · 2
- VA official 2022 form and scoring guidance
- VA developer description and permissions · VA National Center for PTSD states this measure is public domain and not copyrighted.