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Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5)

Five questions on how a frightening or traumatic event may still be affecting you.

5 items · About 1 min

Some questions ask about low mood and thoughts of self-harm. If you are struggling right now, the helplines are at the bottom of the page. Need someone to talk to?

How to answerSometimes 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? If you have not, this screen does not apply to you (the original form scores it 0) and you do not need to go on. If you have, please answer the questions below. In the past month, have you... Thinking about these things can be hard; go at your own pace and stop whenever you need to.

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

The PC-PTSD-5 is a 5-item screen developed by the US Department of Veterans Affairs for primary care, to flag possible posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after a traumatic event; each question asks about one reaction over the past month. The result is the number of yes answers. A cut-off of 3 is common (the most sensitive in the authors' study); in a larger VA sample a cut-off of 4 best balanced false positives and false negatives, so some services use 4. It is a screen, not a diagnosis; a positive result calls for a further assessment by a professional.

SourcePrins, A., Bovin, M. J., Smolenski, D. J., Marx, B. P., Kimerling, R., Jenkins-Guarnieri, M. A., Kaloupek, D. G., Schnurr, P. P., Pless Kaiser, A., Leyva, Y. E., & Tiet, Q. Q. (2016). The Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5): Development and evaluation within a veteran primary care sample. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 31(10), 1206–1211. Developed by the US Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD: "This measure was developed by staff at VA's National Center for PTSD and is in the public domain and not copyrighted." (https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/assessment/screens/pc-ptsd.asp). Public domain.

Need someone to talk to?

If you are in distress or thinking about hurting yourself, contact one of the lines below now, or call emergency services. You don't have to carry this alone.

  • US: 988 Suicide & Crisis LifelineCall or text, 24/7 988
  • UK & Ireland: Samaritans24/7, free 116 123
  • Other countriesFind a free, confidential helpline near you findahelpline.com
  • EmergencyIf someone's life is in danger 112 / 911