PTSD Symptom Scale – Self-Report Version explained

PTSD Symptom Scale – Self-Report Version
Purpose:	assess symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder

PTSD Symptom Scale – Self-Report Version (PSS-SR) is a 17-item self-reported questionnaire to assess symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder.^[1] Each of the 17 items describe PTSD symptoms which respondents rate in terms of their frequency or severity using a Likert-type scale ranging from 0 (not at all or only one time) to 3 (almost always or five or more times per week). Ratings on items are summed to create three subscales  - re-experiencing, avoidance coping, and psychological hyperarousal (such as "jumpiness")  - as well as a total score (that ranges from 0 to 51). All items of the PSS-SR should be answered, and assessment is done by total score. The total score higher than 13 indicates on likelihood of PTSD.

See also

• Child PTSD Symptom Scale
• Diagnostic classification and rating scales used in psychiatry

Further reading

• Foa . Edna B. . Riggs . David S. . Dancu . Constance V. . Rothbaum . Barbara O. . October 1993 . Reliability and validity of a brief instrument for assessing post-traumatic stress disorder . Journal of Traumatic Stress . 6 . 4 . 459–473 . 10.1002/jts.2490060405 .

Notes and References

1. Foa . Edna B. . Cashman . Laurie . Jaycox . Lisa . Perry . Keven . December 1997 . The validation of a self-report measure of posttraumatic stress disorder: the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale . Psychological Assessment . 9 . 4 . 445–451 . 10.1037/1040-3590.9.4.445.