CAPS-5 PTSD Interview: Purpose, Process, and Clinical Use
Author: Ukrainian Psychological Hub · Published: October 9, 2026 · Editorial Policy
The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) is a structured clinical interview that helps a trained professional determine whether a person meets diagnostic criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and measure the severity of the relevant symptoms. Its 30-item format assesses the 20 DSM-5 PTSD symptoms alongside information about traumatic exposure, duration, impairment, symptom onset, dissociation, and the clinician's assessment of the presentation. The full interview normally takes 45–60 minutes. The VA National Center for PTSD describes the CAPS as a reference-standard PTSD assessment instrument.
CAPS-5 is intended for diagnostic clarification, clinical treatment planning, monitoring change, and research. Its central question is whether the person's symptom pattern, qualifying exposure, timing, and impairment support a DSM diagnosis, rather than whether a few troubling experiences or a screening score suggest possible PTSD. The 2023 VA/DoD guideline suggests confirming PTSD with a validated structured clinician-administered interview such as CAPS-5 or PSSI-5. It rates that recommendation as weak in the technical guideline sense because evidence for specific assessment strategies has limitations.
This guide explains the interview from the perspectives of patients and clinicians, including who administers it, which questions are asked, how the scoring system works, what a result establishes, how it differs from brief PTSD checklists and ICD-11 complex PTSD assessments, and what research demonstrates about reliability. It also addresses understandable concerns about discussing trauma, privacy, clinical care, and interpreting change over time.
What Is the CAPS-5?
CAPS-5 stands for Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5. Developed by VA-affiliated PTSD researchers, it is a standardized clinical interview corresponding to DSM-5 PTSD criteria. An assessor uses structured questions and follow-up probes to clarify what the person has experienced, whether symptoms are related to a qualifying traumatic event, and how frequently and intensely those symptoms occur. The results include a clinician-rated severity profile and an evaluation of the diagnostic criteria. Official CAPS-5 description.
The interview is widely used in specialist clinical services and research because standardization can improve consistency between assessments. Its reputation as a gold-standard interview reflects the body of validation research and its detailed diagnostic framework. That reputation should be understood precisely: CAPS-5 is an important clinical instrument, not a biomarker, an infallible detector of past events, or a substitute for a person's medical and psychological history. The quality of results depends on the interviewer, context, training, interpretation, and the relevance of the version used.
The three reference periods
There are three common CAPS-5 versions: past month, worst month or lifetime, and past week. The past-month version evaluates current DSM PTSD, while the worst-month version can evaluate lifetime PTSD. The past-week version can measure recent symptoms, including change during treatment, but should not be used by itself to determine whether criteria for current or lifetime PTSD are met. This distinction is explicitly described in the VA administration guidance.
Reference periods matter because symptoms fluctuate. Someone may have a difficult week while improving overall; another person may have a history of PTSD but currently experience much less impairment. Assessment should document the period being evaluated and avoid treating scores from different time frames as automatically equivalent.
Who Should Have a CAPS-5 Interview?
A clinician may consider the interview when PTSD is suspected, a questionnaire indicates probable PTSD, symptoms overlap with other psychiatric or medical conditions, the history includes multiple potentially traumatic experiences, or a precise baseline is needed before care or research. The individual may be a civilian or a service member, a survivor of violence, a serious accident, disaster, or another qualifying exposure. PTSD is defined by the relevant diagnostic criteria, not by belonging to one particular population.
Trauma exposure and PTSD are distinct clinical facts. A person may experience intense fear, nightmares, sleep disturbance, or concentration problems soon after an event without meeting the criteria for PTSD. A DSM PTSD diagnosis requires the duration criterion of more than one month. During the earlier interval clinicians may assess acute stress responses and, where applicable, acute stress disorder. The published Acute Stress Disorder vs PTSD article explains this timing distinction.
For children, age-sensitive assessment matters. The VA describes a distinct CAPS-CA-5 instrument for children and adolescents aged seven and older. Adult CAPS-5 scoring should not be assumed interchangeable with pediatric methods. A younger patient's language, developmental stage, behavioral expression of distress, family circumstances, and safety should inform assessment. See PTSD in Children and Teenagers.
What Happens During the Interview?
1. Purpose, consent, and orientation
An assessment ordinarily begins with an explanation of its purpose, expected duration, and how the information will be used. The clinician should clarify who will see the findings, whether the appointment is for care, research, or an administrative decision, and how confidentiality works. Legal limits on confidentiality vary by setting and jurisdiction. Patients may ask about access to records, the use of interpreters, the possibility of breaks, and what will happen if questions become overwhelming.
The interviewer describes the structured format and asks the person to answer in their own words. Good assessment practice allows clarification and acknowledgment of uncertainty. The VA CAPS-5 clinician training curriculum emphasizes the standardized interview method and the need for sound administration and scoring.
2. Identifying a qualifying traumatic event
The clinician establishes whether the person experienced an event that meets DSM Criterion A: qualifying exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence. Exposure can occur directly, through witnessing, learning about specified experiences of close others, or repeated or extreme occupational contact with aversive details under defined circumstances. Some extremely upsetting experiences do not meet this narrower DSM exposure criterion, even when they cause profound distress.
The interviewer identifies an index traumatic event to anchor subsequent symptom questions. The Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5) may help assess potentially traumatic experiences before the interview. Some patients have several relevant events, repeated victimization, or complex trauma histories, making event selection more complicated. It is important to document the approach rather than require the person to pretend that only one event matters. VA CAPS-5 exposure and index-event guidance.
The purpose is to obtain sufficient evidence about exposure and symptom linkage. CAPS-5 assessment does not require the person to narrate every graphic detail of the event or reproduce an entire trauma-focused therapy procedure. Gaps, hesitations, or changes in recall require careful evaluation rather than automatic assumptions about truthfulness or diagnosis.
3. Interviewing the four PTSD symptom clusters
The interviewer explores twenty core DSM-5 PTSD symptoms organized in four groups. Criterion B addresses intrusion: unwanted trauma memories, dreams, flashbacks, emotional distress from reminders, and physiological reactivity. Criterion C addresses avoidance of trauma-related memories or thoughts and avoidance of external reminders. Criterion D addresses negative alterations in cognition and mood, including negative beliefs, blame, diminished interests, detachment, and difficulty experiencing positive emotions. Criterion E addresses changes in arousal and reactivity, such as irritability, reckless behavior, hypervigilance, startle response, difficulty concentrating, and disrupted sleep.
These experiences can resemble symptoms of other conditions. Intrusive thoughts can arise in PTSD or OCD; nightmares can occur in several sleep and psychiatric conditions; concentration problems may involve sleep loss, pain, medication, neurodevelopmental conditions, or neurological illness. A trained interviewer clarifies what happened, what the experience feels like, when it occurs, how it relates to the index event, and what alternative explanations should be considered.
4. Frequency, intensity, and duration
Each relevant symptom is examined for frequency and intensity, which are combined to produce one clinician-rated severity value. The professional may ask how often symptoms occur, how strongly they affect the person, whether their onset followed trauma, and whether they interfere with ordinary activities. The interview also addresses the duration of the overall symptom pattern and whether distress or impairment reaches clinical significance.
A person's responses can vary with recent life circumstances, current safety, medical conditions, or sleep. It is better for the clinician to document genuine uncertainty than to force a neat answer from an ambiguous history. The severity rating is an informed judgment based on standardized anchors, not a simple transcript of a patient's preferred number.
5. Dissociation, functioning, and the wider clinical picture
CAPS-5 includes assessment relevant to the dissociative subtype of PTSD, especially depersonalization and derealization. These experiences need careful interpretation and should not be equated automatically with a separate dissociative disorder. The clinician also considers the effect of symptoms on relationships, work, study, and daily tasks. A full clinical assessment may need additional interviews or examinations for depression, panic disorder, substance use, traumatic brain injury, medical problems, psychosis, mania, and other presentations.
Safety assessment belongs to clinical care. A practitioner may separately evaluate suicidal thoughts, self-harm, acute danger, medication effects, and access to support. CAPS-5 should not be used as a substitute for comprehensive assessment of urgent risk.
How Is CAPS-5 Scored?
Twenty symptom ratings and a total score
The twenty core PTSD symptoms are each rated from 0 to 4: absent, mild or subthreshold, moderate or threshold, severe, and extreme. The trained interviewer integrates information about frequency and intensity according to the instrument's anchors. Adding the twenty symptom severity ratings produces a total ranging from 0 to 80. Scores for the four symptom clusters can be calculated separately; there are five intrusion symptoms, two avoidance symptoms, seven cognition/mood symptoms, and six arousal/reactivity symptoms. Official scoring details.
A higher total generally reflects a heavier clinician-rated PTSD symptom burden. The sum is not equivalent to the diagnosis. Two individuals with the same total may differ greatly in which symptoms are present, in their functioning, in their medical history, and in whether the full DSM requirements are fulfilled. Comparisons are also influenced by reference period, index event, language, interviewer, and assessment context.
The diagnostic algorithm
The standard DSM-5 PTSD algorithm requires a qualifying Criterion A exposure, at least one intrusion symptom in B, at least one avoidance symptom in C, at least two cognition/mood symptoms in D, and at least two arousal/reactivity symptoms in E. In the standard CAPS-5 severity scoring rule, a symptom rated 2 or higher generally counts as present. The overall pattern must also meet duration Criterion F, clinically significant distress or impairment Criterion G, and the exclusion rule concerning substance or medical causes in Criterion H. See the VA diagnostic scoring guide.
The interview therefore separates threshold symptoms, total severity, the qualifying traumatic event, duration, impairment, and competing explanations. A single sum does not decide all those questions. For a broader explanation of the clinical process, read PTSD Screening vs Diagnosis.
Consider two hypothetical patients with the same total severity score of 28. One might satisfy the qualifying exposure, symptom clusters, duration, and impairment requirements. The other might have considerable distress but no qualifying Criterion A event or no threshold avoidance symptoms. Their totals would be the same, but their diagnostic conclusions could differ. This illustration is about diagnostic logic, not a do-it-yourself test.
Does CAPS-5 have a diagnostic cutoff score?
The clinical diagnosis is criterion based. Some research protocols have applied additional score thresholds for eligibility or severity, but those research conventions must be distinguished from the DSM symptom-cluster algorithm. A score can be relevant to measuring burden or selecting a study sample while remaining insufficient, by itself, to establish or exclude PTSD. Clinicians should specify which scoring algorithm and assessment period were used.
CAPS-5 Versus PCL-5: Important Differences
The PCL-5 is a 20-item self-report PTSD questionnaire, commonly completed in five to ten minutes. It is useful for screening, estimating possible PTSD, and tracking symptom change. The CAPS-5 is a much longer structured clinical interview, typically 45–60 minutes, in which a trained interviewer clarifies symptom descriptions and assesses diagnostic requirements. The VA's PCL-5 guidance directs clinicians to interpret the questionnaire in context and recognizes structured interviews as important diagnostic tools.
Both instruments use twenty core PTSD symptoms and a possible total of 0–80. The identical numerical range can be misleading: self-report and clinician ratings are not interchangeable measurements. A 2023 analysis of 739 treatment-seeking military personnel and veterans found that PCL-5 totals were generally higher than CAPS-5 totals, both before and after treatment. Wording, response anchors, interviewer interpretation, and response behavior may contribute. Those findings describe groups in the studied trials and should not be presumed to hold with the same difference for every patient.
The shorter PC-PTSD-5 is another screening instrument used in primary care. The VA/DoD guideline synopsis suggests PC-PTSD-5 for screening and a validated structured clinician interview such as CAPS-5 or PSSI-5 for confirming the diagnosis. A positive screen signals the potential value of more assessment; it does not automatically establish a disorder.
PSSI-5, or the PTSD Symptom Scale Interview for DSM-5, is a different interview measure with its own evidence base. The VA/DoD guideline names it alongside CAPS-5 as a possible structured diagnostic option. Instrument choice depends on clinical goals, training, population, validated language versions, and resources. VA PSSI-5 information.
CAPS-5, DSM-5-TR, ICD-11, and Complex PTSD
CAPS-5 is a DSM-based PTSD interview. The instrument was developed for DSM-5 symptom criteria, which remain central to its clinical use. The DSM-5-TR is the revised text edition of DSM-5. When applying a measure clinically, professionals must follow their current diagnostic manual and local requirements rather than assume the instrument alone contains every detail of clinical classification.
ICD-11 PTSD and ICD-11 complex PTSD use a different diagnostic structure. ICD-11 PTSD emphasizes core re-experiencing, avoidance, and sense of current threat. ICD-11 CPTSD adds disturbances in self-organization, including affect regulation, negative self-concept, and relationships, together with associated impairment. CAPS-5 does not independently assess the complete ICD-11 CPTSD construct. The International Trauma Questionnaire is a self-report assessment for ICD-11 PTSD/CPTSD, and the clinician-administered International Trauma Interview (ITI) is designed for these ICD-11 categories. VA complex PTSD assessment overview; VA ITI description.
Complex trauma histories do not automatically establish a CPTSD diagnosis, and the DSM dissociative subtype of PTSD is not identical to ICD-11 CPTSD. A person may need a broader differential evaluation when emotional dysregulation, interpersonal difficulties, dissociation, depression, substance use, or personality-related difficulties coexist. Our published PTSD vs Complex PTSD guide addresses these distinctions without treating one system as a simple translation of the other.
How Reliable and Valid Is CAPS-5?
Initial validation
A foundational study by Weathers and colleagues evaluated CAPS-5 in two samples of military veterans, with 165 and 207 participants. Depending on the scoring rule, interrater reliability of PTSD diagnosis ranged from kappa .78 to 1.00; test–retest diagnostic reliability was kappa .83. The total severity score had interrater reliability ICC .91 and internal consistency alpha .88. These findings support reliable structured assessment when trained evaluators use the instrument appropriately. The results cannot be treated as guaranteed performance in every clinic or population.
Independent research has extended validation to civilian populations and languages other than English. A 2025 German clinical study supported several psychometric properties across military and civilian participants, while identifying limitations in follow-up attendance and the number of independently rated interviews. These details matter because a translated interview needs evidence of linguistic, cultural, and measurement suitability; literal translation alone does not guarantee comparable validity.
CAPS-5-R: the revised interview
CAPS-5-R is a revised version developed to improve elements of administration and scoring. An initial evaluation in 73 trauma-exposed community participants found good test–retest reliability for diagnosis, high interrater agreement, and strong correspondence with the existing CAPS-5. This is promising evidence from a relatively small sample. The revised instrument should be identified accurately, and research with CAPS-5-R should not be silently presented as if it tested the identical original version.
A 2026 review in the Journal of Traumatic Stress highlights continuing measurement questions, including how people and clinicians identify the principal traumatic event, differences between interview and self-report results, and short-term stability. These are meaningful areas of research within an established approach to assessment. They encourage careful interpretation rather than invalidating the extensive existing evidence.
What a validation study cannot prove
Reliability shows how consistently an instrument behaves under specified conditions. Validity concerns whether scores and diagnostic decisions support the interpretations intended. Neither establishes the historical accuracy of an individual memory, pinpoints a biological source of symptoms, proves that a particular person is truthful or untruthful, or makes a legal entitlement decision by itself. Research samples, assessor training, time intervals, and selection methods influence reported accuracy statistics.
A complete clinical evaluation therefore integrates the interview with history, observation, functional assessment, differential diagnosis, safety, and patient context. The NICE PTSD guideline recommends comprehensive assessment of physical, psychological, and social needs, including risk assessment.
Can CAPS-5 Track Treatment Progress?
Yes. Repeated administrations may quantify PTSD symptom change and help identify patterns of improvement or persistent difficulty. Consistent use of the relevant version, assessment window, scoring rules, and interviewing procedures improves interpretability. A falling total suggests symptom improvement, but remission of the diagnosis, better daily functioning, improved quality of life, and reduced risk are distinct outcomes.
The VA CAPS-5 page explains that evidence about meaningful change is still limited. An improvement around ten points has been proposed as one indicator of treatment response. In studies of male veterans, within-person CAPS-5 decreases of roughly 12–13 points were estimated as reliable change in two samples, while a very low posttreatment score was used to characterize clinically significant change. These thresholds are sample-derived research estimates, not automatic decision rules for every patient.
Symptom relief can be important before all DSM criteria cease to be met. Conversely, someone who no longer meets PTSD criteria may still need care for depression, insomnia, physical symptoms, or interpersonal consequences. The published Can PTSD Go Away? article explores longer-term trajectories without imposing a universal timeline.
Is the Interview Traumatizing?
Discussing trauma symptoms can be emotionally difficult. The clinician may ask about intrusive memories, nightmares, reminders, and their effects, which can temporarily increase distress. CAPS-5 is an assessment rather than a course of exposure therapy; the interviewer does not need an exhaustive graphic retelling of all events to conduct symptom assessment. The VA/DoD guideline acknowledges the possibility of distress from questioning and considers the diagnostic benefit of structured interviews to generally outweigh that potential harm.
A person can discuss breaks, accessibility requirements, language needs, uncertainty about responses, and post-assessment support. Different people react differently: some experience relief from finally describing symptoms clearly, while others find the interview tiring. Emotional intensity during the interview is neither a necessary proof of PTSD nor a reason to dismiss an otherwise relevant presentation.
Where severe dissociation, acute safety concerns, intoxication, psychosis, or major medical issues affect the appointment, the professional must consider the person's immediate needs and ability to participate. For emergency physical or mental health circumstances, urgent evaluation takes priority over finishing the PTSD instrument.
How to Prepare for an Appointment
A patient can ask in advance whether the visit includes a full CAPS-5, whether the clinician is qualified to administer it, what reference period will be used, and how findings will be shared. It may help to think about the approximate onset of symptoms, changes in sleep or daily functioning, current medications, and the presence of other health conditions. This preparation is for communication rather than practicing answers.
If several traumatic events are relevant, mention the complexity rather than inventing a single perfect event narrative. Describe intrusive experiences and avoidance as clearly as possible, including uncertainty. An interviewer can use follow-up questions to clarify them. If some questions are too distressing or difficult to understand, say so; pacing and clinical support are part of professional assessment.
For remote appointments, discuss privacy of the physical setting, a reliable connection, a backup method of communication, the clinician's location and emergency plan, and whether remote administration is suitable. Online administration requires appropriate procedures; the existence of an interview protocol does not by itself demonstrate equivalence for every digital implementation.
What Happens After the Interview?
A trained clinician interprets the diagnostic algorithm, total and cluster severity ratings, history, other conditions, current safety, and functional impairment. A useful feedback conversation explains whether the criteria were met, the limits of that conclusion, and which additional evaluations or support may be appropriate. Patients may ask for the assessment findings and how the result affects care decisions.
For people diagnosed with PTSD, evidence-based psychotherapy options may include prolonged exposure, cognitive processing therapy, and EMDR. Medication decisions require separate assessment of benefits and risks. CAPS-5 does not independently select a treatment or imply that all interventions have equal evidence. The VA/DoD 2023 guideline and NICE NG116 offer condition-specific recommendations. Our published PTSD Treatment guide covers those options in detail.
When a person does not meet PTSD criteria, their suffering may still warrant care. Clinically significant reactions can arise without the full syndrome, and another diagnosis or medical explanation may better account for the findings. A negative PTSD assessment should lead to appropriate interpretation and support rather than dismissal.
Limitations and Common Misinterpretations
Training and interviewing consistency
Interviewer calibration and fidelity matter. Errors can occur when probes are skipped, symptom frequency is estimated loosely, the selected index event changes without documentation, the wrong reference-period version is used, or symptoms are attributed to trauma without exploring alternatives. The VA training curriculum addresses administration, probing, and interpretation. Access to the measure is directed toward appropriately qualified clinicians and researchers.
Language, culture, and accessibility
People may describe distress through culturally specific expressions or bodily sensations. Assessors need to understand what respondents mean without imposing a rigid interpretation. Translation quality, interpreter use, disability access, hearing or communication limitations, literacy, and local norms may affect the interview. The evidence for one validated version cannot simply be transferred to every language or population.
Overlap with other diagnoses
Intrusions, poor sleep, avoidance, irritability, and concentration difficulties are transdiagnostic phenomena. PTSD assessment should examine how they relate to the qualifying event and whether depression, anxiety disorders, OCD, substance use, sleep disorders, traumatic brain injury, or other conditions better explain some features. Dissociative symptoms may require additional evaluation. The published OCD vs PTSD article explores one important differential diagnosis.
Forensic, administrative, and clinical contexts
An interview used to inform care is not equivalent to a legal evaluation. Disability, compensation, fitness-for-duty, and forensic decisions may require additional documentation, independent evidence, and specific legal standards. Likewise, a clinical diagnosis is different from a screening result or a research inclusion criterion. The evaluator should describe which question the assessment was designed to answer and the evidentiary limits of the result.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CAPS-5 an official PTSD diagnostic test?
CAPS-5 is a validated, structured clinician-administered DSM-5 PTSD interview. It supports formal diagnostic evaluation and severity measurement when appropriately administered. Diagnosis remains a professional conclusion based on all applicable criteria and relevant clinical information.
How long does a CAPS-5 assessment take?
The standard full interview typically lasts 45–60 minutes. A broader appointment may take longer if the clinician also discusses other disorders, current risk, treatment history, or next steps. VA estimate.
Does CAPS-5 have 20 questions or 30?
It is described as a 30-item structured interview, with twenty core PTSD symptom items. Additional diagnostic domains and standardized probes mean the actual number of spoken questions can be greater.
What score means I have PTSD?
No single total out of 80 independently establishes PTSD. A clinician uses the symptom cluster algorithm together with exposure, duration, impairment, and exclusion criteria. A total is a measure of severity rather than a complete diagnosis.
Is a CAPS-5 score of 40 severe?
It indicates a considerable sum of clinician-rated symptoms, but severity labels require interpretation of the overall presentation. A numerical result alone cannot establish a diagnosis or the full extent of impairment.
Can I complete CAPS-5 by myself?
CAPS-5 is not designed as a self-scored online quiz. It requires professional interviewing, symptom clarification, and anchored clinical ratings. The VA provides instrument access information for qualified users.
How is CAPS-5 different from PCL-5?
CAPS-5 is a trained clinician interview; PCL-5 is a short self-report questionnaire. The PCL-5 can help identify probable PTSD and monitor symptoms; CAPS-5 examines the DSM diagnostic criteria more comprehensively. Their numerical totals are not directly interchangeable.
Can CAPS-5 diagnose ICD-11 complex PTSD?
CAPS-5 is primarily designed for DSM-based PTSD. ICD-11 CPTSD includes additional symptom domains that are assessed with approaches such as the ITQ and clinician-administered ITI. Suspected CPTSD warrants an appropriate diagnostic evaluation.
What is CAPS-5-R?
CAPS-5-R is a revised form with updates to administration and scoring. Early research demonstrates promising reliability and correspondence with CAPS-5, while its evidence base continues to develop. Initial validation study.
Can CAPS-5 be used with children?
A separate CAPS-CA-5 exists for children and adolescents aged seven and older. The clinician must select a developmentally appropriate method and consider the wider pediatric context.
Will I have to give a complete account of the traumatic event?
The interviewer needs sufficient information to assess qualifying exposure and symptom connections, but the clinical interview is not an obligation to reconstruct every detail graphically. Discuss distress, uncertainty, and pacing with the assessor.
Can PTSD symptoms exist if I do not meet the criteria?
Yes. Symptoms, subthreshold presentations, and other trauma-related difficulties may require care even when the full DSM PTSD syndrome is not present. The clinician should explain what the results do and do not establish.
Can my score change after therapy?
Yes. Repeated interviews can measure symptom changes, provided the reference period and administration are appropriate. Interpretation should also include functioning, safety, comorbidities, and personal recovery goals.
Clinical Takeaway
The CAPS-5 is a carefully standardized way to establish a DSM PTSD diagnosis and quantify symptoms through an interview rather than relying on a screening score alone. Its strengths are its diagnostic structure, trained clinical interpretation, and substantial validation research. Its limits are equally important for sound use: the interview measures defined experiences over a specified period and becomes most valuable when combined with a person's history, current circumstances, physical and psychological health, and practical treatment needs.
Related Articles
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment — the parent clinical overview of PTSD.
PTSD Screening vs Diagnosis: How Assessment Works — diagnostic assessment route and the role of clinician interviews.
PTSD vs Complex PTSD: How the Diagnoses Differ — DSM and ICD classification boundaries.
PTSD Treatment: Evidence-Based Therapy and Medication Options — treatment pathways following assessment.
PTSD Flashbacks: What They Feel Like and Why They Happen — a symptom evaluated during PTSD assessment.
References
American Psychological Association. PTSD Assessment Instruments. Official assessment guidance.
Bovin, M. J., Weathers, F. W., Wang, S., Crow, T., Schnurr, P. P., & Marx, B. P. (2026). Cutting-edge developments in the assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.70099.
Cwik, J. C., et al. (2025). Psychometric properties of the German version of the clinician-administered PTSD scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) in routine clinical settings. BMC Psychiatry, 25, 935. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-07342-w.
Jackson, J. C., et al. (2024). The revised Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5-R): Initial psychometric evaluation in a trauma-exposed community sample. Journal of Traumatic Stress. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.23093.
Marx, B. P., et al. (2022). Reliable and clinically significant change in the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 and PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 among male veterans. Psychological Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0001098.
National Center for PTSD. Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Official instrument information.
National Center for PTSD. Complex PTSD: Assessment and Treatment. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Official clinical overview.
National Center for PTSD. International Trauma Interview (ITI). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Official interview description.
National Center for PTSD. PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Official instrument description.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2018). Post-traumatic stress disorder (NG116): Recommendations. Official guideline.
Resick, P. A., et al. (2023). A comparison of the CAPS-5 and PCL-5 to assess PTSD in military and veteran treatment-seeking samples. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 14(2), 2222608. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008066.2023.2222608.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs & U.S. Department of Defense. (2023). Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Acute Stress Disorder. Official VA/DoD guideline.
Weathers, F. W., Bovin, M. J., Lee, D. J., Sloan, D. M., Schnurr, P. P., Kaloupek, D. G., Keane, T. M., & Marx, B. P. (2018). The Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5: Development and initial psychometric evaluation in military veterans. Psychological Assessment, 30(3), 383–395. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000486.