The CAPS is the gold standard in PTSD assessment.
The CAPS-5 is a 30-item structured interview that can be used to:
- Make current (past month) diagnosis of PTSD
- Make lifetime diagnosis of PTSD
- Assess PTSD symptoms over the past week
In addition to assessing the 20 DSM-5 PTSD symptoms, questions target the onset and duration of symptoms, subjective distress, impact of symptoms on social and occupational functioning, improvement in symptoms since a previous CAPS administration, overall response validity, overall PTSD severity, and specifications for the dissociative subtype (depersonalization and derealization).
For each symptom, standardized questions and probes are provided. Administration requires identification of an index traumatic event to serve as the basis for symptom inquiry. The Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5) is recommended in addition to the Criterion A inquiry included in the CAPS-5.
The CAPS was designed to be administered by clinicians and clinical researchers who have a working knowledge of PTSD but can also be administered by appropriately trained paraprofessionals. The full interview takes 45-60 minutes to administer.
