24-item measure of peritraumatic distress related to the COVID-19 pandemic. ≈ 5 min to complete. Free with attribution.
CPDI (COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index) is a validated clinical instrument used to assess 24-item measure of peritraumatic distress related to the covid-19 pandemic.. It is most often used for 24-item measure of peritraumatic distress related to the covid-19 pandemic.. The instrument contains 24 items. Typical administration time is ≈ 5 min.
Source / attribution: Free to use with citation
24-item measure of peritraumatic distress related to the COVID-19 pandemic. CPDI is part of standard practice in this setting because it provides a structured, replicable assessment that can be tracked over time and compared across patients or visits.
Like all screening or assessment instruments, CPDI is a structured aid — not a diagnostic test in isolation. Results should be interpreted alongside history, examination, and clinical context. Where a score crosses an actionable threshold, the next step is typically a more detailed clinical evaluation rather than a definitive diagnosis.
Answer all 24 items below to see your CPDI score and interpretation.
Each item is scored on a 5-point scale (0–4). Your score updates live as you answer.
All scoring runs in your browser. No data is sent anywhere — close the tab and the answers are gone.
Sum all 24 items scored 0-3. Total range 0-72. Score >= 28 suggests significant distress.
Scoring notes: Sum all 24 items scored 0-3. Total range 0-72. Score >= 28 suggests significant distress.
The cutoffs below are drawn from the published validation literature. Always interpret in clinical context.
| Score range | Band | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| 0–27 | Normal | None |
| 28–72 | Significant distress | Consider support |
This is an illustrative walkthrough, not a real patient. Follow the same four steps with your own answers — or use the live calculator at the top of this page.
Read each question and choose the response that best fits. Each response has a number next to it — that number is the item's score. The example below uses illustrative answers.
| # | Item | Example response | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Compared to usual, I feel more nervous and anxious | Sometimes | 2 |
| 2 | I feel insecure and bought lots of masks, medications, sanitizer, gloves and/or other home supplies | Sometimes | 2 |
| 3 | I can't stop myself from imagining myself or my family being infected and feel terrified | Sometimes | 2 |
| 4 | I feel empty and helpless no matter what I do | Sometimes | 2 |
| 5 | I feel sympathetic toward COVID-19 patients and their families | Sometimes | 2 |
| 6 | I feel helpless and angry toward people around me | Sometimes | 2 |
| 7 | I have lost confidence in the people around me | Sometimes | 2 |
| 8 | I collect information about COVID-19 all day long | Sometimes | 2 |
| 9 | I will believe theستونe information only from official sources | Sometimes | 2 |
| 10 | I am willing to follow the advice of doctors and experts | Sometimes | 2 |
| 11 | I would rather be alone and not share my concerns | Sometimes | 2 |
| 12 | I feel more distant from family and friends than usual | Sometimes | 2 |
| 13 | I can't understand why people around me are not more worried | Sometimes | 2 |
| 14 | I feel tired and sometimes even exhausted | Sometimes | 2 |
| 15 | Due to feelings of anxiety, my reactions are becoming sluggish | Sometimes | 2 |
| 16 | I find it hard to concentrate | Sometimes | 2 |
| 17 | I find it hard to make any decisions | Sometimes | 2 |
| 18 | During COVID-19, I often feel dizzy or have back pain, chest tightness or gastrointestinal discomfort | Sometimes | 2 |
| 19 | During COVID-19, I need to be reminded to eat or do other daily routines | Sometimes | 2 |
| 20 | Social distancing makes me feel uncomfortable | Sometimes | 2 |
| 21 | I avoid listening to COVID-19 news because it makes me too uncomfortable | Sometimes | 2 |
| 22 | I have difficulty falling and staying asleep | Often | 3 |
| 23 | I feel angry and often complain or argue | Sometimes | 2 |
| 24 | I lose my temper easily and frequently quarrel with my family | Often | 3 |
Add up all the item scores you noted in Step 1.
2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + … (items 9–24 sum to 34) = 50
Find the row in the interpretation table whose range contains your total:
Total = 50 falls between 28 and 72 → Significant distress
Significant distress. Consider support
A score is one input alongside history and examination. CPDI supports clinical judgment — it does not replace it.
Psychometric figures are drawn from the validation literature and may vary across clinical populations and translations.
If CPDI doesn't fit your context, related instruments in covid-19 include:
| Scale | Measures | Items | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| FCV-19S | 7-item scale measuring fear of coronavirus-19 during the pandemic. | 7 | ≈ 2 min |
| PHQ-9 | Severity of depression | 9 | ≈ 3 minutes |
| GAD-7 | Severity of generalized anxiety | 7 | ≈ 2 minutes |
| AUDIT | 10-item WHO screening tool for hazardous alcohol consumption and dependence. | 10 | ≈ 3 min |
| CHA2DS2-VASc | Annual stroke risk in non-valvular atrial fibrillation | 8 | — |
| Glasgow Coma Scale | Level of consciousness after head injury | 3 | — |
| MELD-Na | 3-month mortality in advanced liver disease; transplant prioritization | 5 | — |
CPDI (COVID-19 Peritraumatic Distress Index) is a validated instrument that assesses peritraumatic distress related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is designed for clinicians, medical students, evidence-synthesis researchers. It takes about 5 min to complete, and the 24 items are summed to produce a total score.
CPDI typically takes about 5 min to administer. The exact duration varies a little depending on whether it is self-administered or completed with a clinician. Its brief format is part of what makes it practical for routine clinical use and for repeat administration when tracking change over time.
CPDI contains 24 items. Item scores are summed to produce the total. Scores run from 0 to 72, grouped into 2 interpretation bands from ‘Normal’ up to ‘Significant distress’.
On the CPDI (total score 0–72), scores of 28–72 fall in the ‘Significant distress’ band — interpreted as: Consider support. The full ladder is: 0–27 — Normal: None.; 28–72 — Significant distress: Consider support. A higher score reflects a more severe presentation, and crossing a cutoff is a prompt to step up assessment or care — but these bands are screening thresholds, not diagnoses.
Scores of 0–27 fall in the ‘Normal’ band: None. A low score is reassuring but does not by itself rule out the underlying condition — if symptoms or clinical suspicion persist, reassess over time or use a complementary evaluation rather than relying on the number alone.
CPDI has reported Cronbach's α of 0.91 in validation samples and test–retest reliability of 0.88. Validated during early COVID-19 outbreak in China. In practical terms, a Cronbach’s α around 0.91 indicates excellent internal consistency (the items hang together well), and a test–retest reliability of 0.88 means scores are strongly stable when the scale is repeated without real clinical change.
CPDI is free to use with attribution — clinical, educational, and research use is permitted provided the original source is credited. If you publish results or reproduce the scale, include the citation to the source paper.
Qiu, J., Shen, B., Zhao, M., Wang, Z., Xie, B., & Xu, Y. (2020). A nationwide survey of psychological distress among Chinese people in the COVID-19 epidemic. Lancet Psychiatry, 7(4), e19-e20. This is the original publication for the CPDI — the reference to cite when reporting results.
No. CPDI is a structured assessment aid, not a diagnostic test. Its proper role is clinical assessment of peritraumatic distress related to the COVID-19 pandemic — it standardizes assessment and flags who needs closer evaluation, but the result must be weighed alongside history, examination, and clinical context. When a score conflicts with your clinical impression, clinical judgment takes precedence; treatment decisions should never rest on a screening score alone.
CPDI is supported by the following peer-reviewed sources: