Commendable features

None.

De-validating problems

1) There have now been seven different versions of the CAPS questionnaire—two based on the DSM-III (CAPS-1) and CAPS-2), three based on the DSM-IV (CAPS-DX, CAPS-SX, and CAPS-CA), and now the two based on the DSM-5 (CAPS-5 and a children’s version, the CAPS-CA-5). These differ in their items and scoring and are not interchangeable, yet researchers treat them as though they give the same results.

2) The original 30-item CAPS-5 questionnaire is often used as a short 20-item version that does not verify traumatic event exposure as required by the DSM-5.

3) The CAPS-5 lacks the DSM-5 requirement that PTSD symptoms must be present for more than 1 month.

4) It also fails to ask about the effect of the symptoms on occupational functioning and social functioning, as required by the DSM-5. Instead, researchers typically and incorrectly use a separate measure such as Sheehan’s (1983) Sheehan Disability Scale.

5) The 20 items include five symptom items labeled as intrusions but only one of the three (B1, B2, and B3) is required by the DSM-5. There are two avoidant behavior items, seven negative mood items, and six negative behavior items—but these are not specific to post-traumatic stress disorder and should not be counted.

6) The 20 symptoms’ severity scores are added, which means that a person could have a high total score without having any of the three intrusion symptoms at a functionally severe level.