PTSD Checklist for DSM V - PCL-5

Technical Manual

Script Author: Katja Borchert, Ph.D. (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond

Created: March 13, 2018

Last Modified: December 10, 2025 by K. Borchert (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond

Background

This script implements the PTSD Checklist Civilian Version (PCL-5) by the National Center for PTSD - Behavioral Science Division The PCL-C is a PTSD Checklist for DSM-V

References

https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/assessment/adult-sr/ptsd-checklist.asp

Duration

2 minutes

Description

20 5-point Likert scale, self-report

Scoring

for more info on scoring, see: https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/assessment/documents/PCL-5_Standard.pdf

Summary Data

File Name: pcl_5_summary.iqdat

Data Fields

Name	Description
inquisit.version	Inquisit version number
computer.platform	Device platform: win \| mac \|ios \| android
computer.touch	0 = device has no touchscreen capabilities; 1 = device has touchscreen capabilities
computer.hasKeyboard	0 = no external keyboard detected; 1 = external keyboard detected
startDate	Date the session was run
startTime	Time the session was run
subjectId	Participant ID
groupId	Group number
sessionId	Session number
elapsedTime	Session duration in ms
completed	0 = Test was not completed 1 = Test was completed
totalSeverityScore	The sum of all individual questions (Range: 0-80) suggested cut-off point for PTSD: 33
dsmvCriteria	DSMV Criteria = 1 (responses reached DSM V criteria for PTSD) => positive criteria B, positive criteria C, positive criteria D, positive criteria E DSMV Criteria = 0 => the responses did not reach DSM V criteria for PTSD
criteriaB	1 (positive for DSM V criteria B for PTSD) At least one B-item was 'positively' rated (= 2 or above) (B-items: question 1-5) 0 = negative for DSM V criteria B for PTSD
criteriaC	1 (positive for DSM V criteria C for PTSD) At least one C-item was 'positively' rated (= 2 or above) (C-items: question 6-7) 0 = negative for DSM V criteria C for PTSD
criteriaD	1 (positive for DSM V criteria D for PTSD) At least two D-items were 'positively' rated (= 2 or above) (D-items: question 8-14) 0 = negative for DSM V criteria D for PTSD
criteriaE	1 (positive for DSM V criteria E for PTSD) At least two E-items were 'positively' rated (= 2 or above) (E-items: question 15-20) 0 = negative for DSM V criteria E for PTSD
q1-q20	Recoded raw responses (0-4) into a binary response (0 or 1) 1 = the response was 2 or above (participant chose at least 'moderately' for the individual question) => positive 0 = the response was 0 or 1 => negative

Raw Data

File Name: PCL_5.iqdat

Data Fields

Name	Description
date	Date the session was run
time	Time the session was run
subject	Participant ID
group	Group number
session	Session number
build	Inquisit version number
q*_response	Response given (in assigned values 1-5, no reverse coding required)
q*_latency	How much time (in ms) the participant spent on the surveyPage with this particular question (the last time this particular surveyPage was visited)