PC-PTSD-5 accuracy PTSD test
How accurate is the PC-PTSD-5?
Short answer: the PC-PTSD-5 is a well-validated screening tool — good at flagging who should have a fuller evaluation, not at handing out a diagnosis. It was developed by Prins et al., for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in 2016 and has been tested against clinical interviews in independent studies. A very short screen designed for busy primary care, with strong sensitivity for probable PTSD.
Measured a score of 3 or higher is the recommended cutoff for a positive screen.
What the numbers mean
Sensitivity is how often the test correctly flags people who do have the condition; specificity is how often it correctly clears those who don't. High figures on both mean the PC-PTSD-5 misses few real cases while raising few false alarms — which is exactly what you want from a first-pass screen.
The honest limits
No screening tool is perfect, and self-administration online adds its own caveats:
- It only applies after a frightening or traumatic experience — it screens the response, not the event.
- Being brief, it favors catching cases over precision; false positives happen.
- A positive screen calls for a full evaluation, not a diagnosis.
Does taking it online change the accuracy?
The questions and scoring here are identical to the clinical version, so the instrument itself is unchanged. What differs is context: a clinician also weighs your history, rules out other causes, and interprets borderline scores. That's why every result here points you toward a professional rather than standing in for one. Reproducing the instrument faithfully is our job; diagnosing is theirs.