PTSD Test

Designed to reflect recent post-traumatic stress symptoms, this PTSD test presents 20 questions and takes about 4 minutes. Your result highlights symptom severity across key areas, helping you notice patterns, reflect on recent experiences, and understand your personal profile more clearly.

Questions: 204 minutes

October 2, 2025October 2, 2025Material has been updatedOctober 2, 2025Material has been published

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Daniel Hall Psychologist · Test reviewer

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Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

Hyperarousal (E)H

Measures excessive reactivity symptoms such as irritability, angry outbursts, concentration difficulties, and sleep problems.

example score2/4

2/4Moderateexample score

0 – 1.65Low

1.66 – 2.47Moderate

2.48 – 4High

A score of 2 indicates a moderate level of reactivity-related symptoms, suggesting noticeable but not severe irritability, concentration, or sleep difficulties.

Negative Alterations in Cognitions and Mood (D)NAiCaM

Measures persistent negative thoughts, emotions, and beliefs related to the traumatic event.

example score2/4

2/4Moderateexample score

0 – 1Low

2 – 3Moderate

4High

A score of 2 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting a noticeable but not extreme presence of negative trauma-related thoughts and emotions.

Avoidance Symptoms (C)AS

Measures how strongly a person avoids thoughts, feelings, or situations that remind them of the traumatic event.

example score2/4

2/4Moderate avoidanceexample score

0 – 1Low avoidance

2 – 3Moderate avoidance

4High avoidance

A score of 2 suggests a moderate tendency to avoid trauma-related reminders at times.

Intrusion Symptoms (B)IS

Measures the severity of intrusive trauma-related memories, dreams, or flashbacks.

example score3/4

3/4Moderateexample score

0 – 1Low

2 – 3Moderate

4High

A score of 3 falls in the Moderate range, suggesting notable intrusion symptoms such as recurring unwanted memories or distressing dreams that occur fairly often.

PTSD Symptom SeverityPSS

Measures the overall severity of self-reported PTSD symptoms over the past month on the PCL-5 total score.

example score43/80

43/80High symptom severityexample score

0 – 27Lower symptom severity

28 – 32Elevated symptoms

33 – 80High symptom severity

A score of 43 falls in the High symptom severity range, indicating substantial self-reported PTSD symptoms relative to common screening cutoffs.

just completed the test

DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

Recent trauma survivors

41%OF USERS

People who went through an accident, assault, disaster, or sudden loss use it to quickly gauge how strongly PTSD-like symptoms are showing up.

Clients starting therapy

33%OF USERS

People beginning counseling or psychiatric care take it to summarize symptoms clearly and track changes over time.

High-risk professionals

26%OF USERS

First responders, military personnel, and healthcare workers use it to screen themselves after distressing events and decide whether to seek further evaluation.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Shaded area — where most people score

Dot — the average

You — your score lands on each curve after the test— your score, after the test

excessive reactivity (E)

You?

Average1.8

Typical rangeTypical1.2 – 2.3

Possible0 – 4

negative thoughts and emotions (D)

You?

Average2.6

Typical rangeTypical2 – 3.1

Possible0 – 4

avoidance symptoms (C)

You?

Average1.5

Typical rangeTypical0.8 – 2.2

Possible0 – 4

intrusion symptoms (B)

You?

Average3

Typical rangeTypical2.4 – 3.5

Possible0 – 4

PTSD Symptom ScalePSS

You?

Average48.3

Typical rangeTypical34.2 – 62.4

Possible0 – 80

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

Below are reactions that sometimes occur after a traumatic experience. Please read each item carefully and select the response that best reflects how much the stated problem has bothered you during the past month.

- Not at all
- A little bit
- Moderately
- Quite a bit
- Extremely
- Not at all
- A little bit
- Moderately
- Often
- Extremely
- Never
- Rarely
- Moderately
- Often
- Very often

These are 3 of the 20 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

PTSD Test - Description and methodology of the test

ptsd

People reviewing reactions after a potentially traumatic experience may want a structured way to understand what has been happening recently. This PTSD test is intended for readers seeking a focused self-reflection tool before discussing concerns more fully. A PTSD quiz result organizes symptom burden by area, so patterns such as intrusive memories, avoidance, mood changes, or heightened alertness are easier to notice.

What This Assessment Explores

For someone asking whether they might have PTSD, the Do I Have PTSD quiz offers useful detail beyond a yes-or-no result.

The scales below separate these symptom patterns:

Intrusion Symptoms (B), 0-4, measures memories, dreams, and flashbacks; Low 0-1, Moderate 2-3, High 4-4.
Avoidance Symptoms (C), 0-4, measures efforts to avoid reminders; Low avoidance 0-1, Moderate avoidance 2-3, High avoidance 4-4.
Negative Alterations in Cognitions and Mood (D), 0-4, measures persistent negative thoughts, feelings, and beliefs; Low 0-1, Moderate 2-3, High 4-4.
Hyperarousal (E), 0-4, measures irritability, anger, concentration, and sleep problems; Low 0-1.65, Moderate 1.66-2.47, High 2.48-4.
PTSD Symptom Severity, 0-80, measures overall symptom burden; Lower symptom severity 0-27, Elevated symptoms 28-32, High symptom severity 33-80.

Methodology and Evidence Base

The questionnaire asks about the past month and uses five-level frequency or intensity responses. Anchors vary slightly, so each item should be answered according to its wording.

Scoring groups items into symptom domains and combines them into an overall severity score. The method corresponds to the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), a published instrument aligned with DSM-5 post-traumatic stress symptoms. This online presentation is conceptually consistent with the PCL-5, but it is not a separately validated adaptation.

An online PTSD assessment can help readers organize recent experiences and compare patterns over time. The profile is descriptive, so its meaning depends on the circumstances surrounding the responses. A PTSD symptom test result is shaped by current stress, memory, self-awareness, and willingness to report symptoms.

Blevins and colleagues reported initial psychometric evaluation, while Bovin and colleagues examined the PCL-5 in veterans. Those findings do not establish identical norms for every digital administration. A total score of 33 is commonly used as a possible diagnostic threshold, although studies have reported values from 28 to 37; interpretation requires a history of a traumatic event.

Author: Weathers, F.

Literature:

Weathers, F. W., Litz, B. T., Keane, T. M., Palmieri, P. A., Marx, B. P., & Schnurr, P. P. (2013). The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). National Center for PTSD.
Blevins, C. A., Weathers, F. W., Davis, M. T., Witte, T. K., & Domino, J. L. (2015). The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5): Development and Initial Psychometric Evaluation. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 28(6), 489-498. 10.1002/jts.22059
Bovin, M. J., Marx, B. P., Weathers, F. W., Gallagher, M. W., Rodriguez, P., Schnurr, P. P., & Keane, T. M. (2016). Psychometric properties of the PTSD Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fifth Edition (PCL-5) in veterans. Psychological Assessment, 28(11), 1379-1391. 10.1037/pas0000254

Updated: 2025-10-02