Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5)
The PC-PTSD-5 is a brief primary-care screen. It begins with a lifetime traumatic-event question; people who answer Yes then respond to five Yes/No items about the past month. Its score can support a conversation about further assessment, but it does not provide a diagnosis.
- Scientific name
- Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5)
- Primary reference
- 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. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2016;31:1206–1211. Open publication
- Time
- 2 min
- Length
- 5 questions
- Cost
- Free basic result
- Age
- Adults 18+
What this covers
- Trauma-related experiences
- Count of the five PC-PTSD-5 experiences reported during the past month.
Who it is for
Adults who want a private, structured reflection on experiences that may have followed an unusually frightening, horrible or traumatic event.
What your result can show
The score counts Yes responses to the five past-month items, from 0 to 5. A published cut-point of 4 was identified in a US Veteran primary-care sample. Reaching it can be a reason to discuss further assessment with a qualified professional; it does not mean that PTSD is present.
Important limitations
The PC-PTSD-5 was developed for primary-care use by qualified health professionals and researchers. Its performance varies by population and purpose, and the published cut-point may miss some people. NuraCheck is not a clinical assessment service.
A higher score does not establish a diagnosis. A lower score does not show that a condition is absent.
Evidence and permission
PC-PTSD-5 developed by staff at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for PTSD; public domain.
Your answers and result stay on this device. After completion, you can separately choose to upload derived scores for a private link that expires after 180 days.