Full access
Clinical & Research News
Published Online: 18 October 2002

DSM-IV-TR Criteria for PTSD

Publication: Psychiatric News
Volume 37, Number 20
https://doi.org/10.1176/pn.37.20.0025a
A.  The person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following were present:
1. 
the person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others.
2. 
the person’s response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror.
B.  The traumatic event is persistently reexperienced in one (or more) of the following ways:
1. 
recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images, thoughts, or perceptions
2. 
recurrent distressing dreams of the event
3. 
acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (includes a sense of reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations, and dissociative flashback episodes, including those that occur on awakening or when intoxicated)
4. 
intense psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event
5. 
physiological reactivity on exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event
C.  Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness (not present before the trauma), as indicated by three (or more) of the following:
1. 
efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the trauma
2. 
efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollections of the trauma
3. 
inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma
4. 
markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities
5. 
feeling of detachment or estrangement from others
6. 
restricted range of affect (e.g., unable to have loving feelings)
7. 
sense of a foreshortened future (e.g., does not expect to have a career, marriage, children, or a normal life span)
D.  Persistent symptoms of increased arousal (not present before the trauma), as indicated by two (or more) of the following:
1. 
difficulty falling or staying asleep
2. 
irritability or outbursts of anger
3. 
difficulty concentrating
4. 
hypervigilance
5. 
exaggerated startle response
E.  Duration of the disturbance (symptoms in Criteria B, C, and D) is more than 1 month.
F.  The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Psychiatric News
Psychiatric News
Volume 37 • Number 20 • October 18, 2002
Pages: 25

History

Published online: 18 October 2002
Published in print: October 18, 2002

Authors

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Export Citations

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu.

Format
Citation style
Style
Copy to clipboard
Tips for downloading citations

There are no citations for this item

View Options

View options

Get Access

Login options

Already a subscriber? Access your subscription through your login credentials or your institution for full access to this article.

Personal login Institutional Login Open Athens login

Not a subscriber?

Subscribe Now / Learn More

PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5-TR® library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development.

Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.).

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Share article link

Share

×

As described within the American Psychiatric Association (APA)'s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, this website utilizes cookies, including for the purpose of offering an optimal online experience and services tailored to your preferences. Please read the entire Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. By closing this message, browsing this website, continuing the navigation, or otherwise continuing to use the APA's websites, you confirm that you understand and accept the terms of the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, including the utilization of cookies.