Blake, Weathers, Nagy, Kaloupek, Charney,
& Keane, 1995
Description
The CAPS is the gold standard in PTSD assessment. The CAPS is a
30-item structured interview that corresponds to the DSM-IV
criteria for PTSD. The CAPS can be used to make a current (past
month) or lifetime diagnosis of PTSD or to assesses symptoms over
the past week. In addition to assessing the 17 PTSD symptoms,
questions target the impact of symptoms on social and occupational
functioning, improvement in symptoms since a previous CAPS
administration, overall response validity, overall PTSD severity,
and frequency and intensity of five associated symptoms (guilt over
acts, survivor guilt, gaps in awareness, depersonalization, and
derealization). For each item, standardized questions and probes
are provided. As part of the trauma assessment (Criterion A), the
Life Events Checklist is used to identify traumatic stressors
experienced. CAPS items are asked in reference to up to three
traumatic stressors.
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, but it is not
necessary to administer all parts (e.g., associated symptoms).
Scoring
The most frequently used scroing rule is to count a symptom as
present if it has a frequency of 1 or more and an intensity of 2 or
more. A PTSD diagnosis is made if there is at least 1 "B" symptom,
3 "C" symptoms, and 2 "D" symptoms as well as meeting the other
diagnostic criteria. Severity scores can also be calculated by
summing the frequency and intensity ratings for each symptom.
Alternative scoring options have been devised and are described in
Weathers, Ruscio & Keane (1999).
Sample item
B1: Recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the
event, including images, thoughts, or perceptions.
Frequency
Have you ever had unwanted memories of (EVENT)? What were they
like? What did you remember?
IF NOT CLEAR: Did they ever occur while you were awake, or only in dreams? [EXCLUDE IF MEMORIES
OCCURRED ONLY DURING DREAMS]
How often have you had these memories
in the past month (week)?
0 Never
1 Once or twice
2 Once or twice a week
3 Several times a week
4 Daily or almost every day
Intensity
How much distress or discomfort did these memories cause you?
Were you able to put them out of your mind and think about
something else? How hard did you have to try? How much did they
interfere with your life?
0 None
1 Mild, minimal distress or disruption of activities
2 Moderate, distress clearly present but still manageable,
some disruption of activities
3 Severe, considerable distress, difficulty dismissing
memories, marked disruption of activities
4 Extreme, incapacitating distress, cannot dismiss memories,
unable to continue activities
Versions
In the past there were different versions of this measure
corresponding to different time periods. The CAPS-1 assessed
current and lifetime PTSD. The CAPS-2 assessed one week symptom
status. These versions were then renamed CAPS-DX (for diagnosis)
and CAPS-SX (for symptom). These two versions were later combined
into the CAPS, which can be used to assess either symptoms or
diagnoses. A version for children and adolescents (CAPS-CA) is also
available.
Orsillo, Susan M. (2001). Measures for acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. In M.M. Antony & S.M. Orsillo (Eds.), Practitioner's guide to empirically based measures of anxiety (pp. 255-307). New York: KluwerAcademic/Plenum. PILOTS ID 24368
