17-item self-report measure of exposure to potentially traumatic events. ≈ 3 min to complete. Free with attribution.
LEC-5 (Life Events Checklist for DSM-5) is a validated clinical instrument used to assess 17-item self-report measure of exposure to potentially traumatic events.. It is most often used for 17-item self-report measure of exposure to potentially traumatic events.. The instrument contains 17 items. Typical administration time is ≈ 3 min.
Source / attribution: Free to use with citation
17-item self-report measure of exposure to potentially traumatic events. LEC-5 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, LEC-5 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 17 items below to see your LEC-5 score and interpretation.
All scoring runs in your browser. No data is sent anywhere — close the tab and the answers are gone.
Count number of events endorsed. Used in combination with PCL-5 for PTSD assessment.
Scoring notes: Count number of events endorsed. Used in combination with PCL-5 for PTSD assessment.
The cutoffs below are drawn from the published validation literature. Always interpret in clinical context.
| Score range | Band | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| 0–0 | No trauma exposure | None |
| 1–5 | Some trauma exposure | Monitor |
| 6–17 | High trauma exposure | Consider evaluation |
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.
Mark each item Yes or No. Each "Yes" adds the item's weight; each "No" adds 0. The example below uses illustrative answers.
| # | Item | Example response | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natural disaster (for example, flood, hurricane, tornado, earthquake) | No | 0 |
| 2 | Fire or explosion | No | 0 |
| 3 | Transportation accident (for example, car accident, boat accident, train wreck, plane crash) | No | 0 |
| 4 | Serious accident at work, home, or during recreational activity | No | 0 |
| 5 | Exposure to toxic substance (for example, dangerous chemicals, radiation) | No | 0 |
| 6 | Physical assault (for example, being attacked, hit, slapped, kicked, beaten up) | No | 0 |
| 7 | Assault with a weapon (for example, being shot, stabbed, threatened with a knife, gun, bomb) | No | 0 |
| 8 | Sexual assault (for example, rape, attempted rape) | No | 0 |
| 9 | Other unwanted or uncomfortable sexual experience | No | 0 |
| 10 | Combat or exposure to a war-zone (in the military or as a civilian) | No | 0 |
| 11 | Captivity (for example, being kidnapped, abducted, held hostage, prisoner of war) | No | 0 |
| 12 | Life-threatening illness or injury | Yes | 1 |
| 13 | Severe human suffering | No | 0 |
| 14 | Sudden violent passing (for example, homicide, act of terrorism) | Yes | 1 |
| 15 | Sudden accidental passing | No | 0 |
| 16 | Serious injury, harm, or passing you caused to someone else | Yes | 1 |
| 17 | Any other very stressful event or experience | No | 0 |
Add the weights from the items where you marked "Yes" (skip the "No" answers — they contribute 0).
0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + … (items 9–17 sum to 3) = 3
Find the row in the interpretation table whose range contains your total:
Total = 3 falls between 1 and 5 → Some trauma exposure
Some trauma exposure. Monitor
A score is one input alongside history and examination. LEC-5 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 LEC-5 doesn't fit your context, related instruments in trauma include:
| Scale | Measures | Items | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| IES-R | 22-item self-report measure of post-traumatic stress symptoms. | 22 | ≈ 5 min |
| PCL-5 | 20-item self-report measure of DSM-5 PTSD symptom severity. | 20 | ≈ 5 min |
| PCL-C | 17-item civilian version of PTSD Checklist based on DSM-IV. | 17 | ≈ 5 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 | — |
LEC-5 (Life Events Checklist for DSM-5) is a validated instrument that assesses exposure to potentially traumatic events. It is designed for clinicians, medical students, evidence-synthesis researchers. It takes about 3 min to complete, and the 17 items are summed to produce a total score.
LEC-5 typically takes about 3 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.
LEC-5 contains 17 items. Item scores are summed to produce the total. Scores run from 0 to 17, grouped into 3 interpretation bands from ‘No trauma exposure’ up to ‘High trauma exposure’.
On the LEC-5 (total score 0–17), scores of 6–17 fall in the ‘High trauma exposure’ band — interpreted as: Consider evaluation. The full ladder is: 0 — No trauma exposure: None.; 1–5 — Some trauma exposure: Monitor.; 6–17 — High trauma exposure: Consider evaluation. 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 fall in the ‘No trauma exposure’ 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.
LEC-5 has reported Cronbach's α of 0.9 in validation samples. Structured trauma exposure assessment. These figures come from the published validation literature cited below.
LEC-5 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.
Weathers, F. W., Blake, D. D., Schnurr, P. P., Kaloupek, D. G., Marx, B. P., & Keane, T. M. (2013). The Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5). National Center for PTSD. This is the original publication for the LEC-5 — the reference to cite when reporting results.
No. LEC-5 is a structured assessment aid, not a diagnostic test. Its proper role is clinical assessment of exposure to potentially traumatic events — 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.
LEC-5 is supported by the following peer-reviewed sources: