The International Trauma Questionnaire

Symptoms of PTSD and Complex PTSD

The International Trauma Questionnaire focuses on defining whether a person has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which consists of:

Re-experiencing in the here and now
Avoidance
Sense of current threat

or Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which also includes:

Affective dysregulation
Negative self-concept
Disturbances in relationships

Diagnostic Algorithms

“The International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ) is a brief, simply-worded measure, focusing only on the core features of PTSD and CPTSD, and employs straightforward diagnostic rules. The ITQ is freely available in the public domain to all interested parties.”

https://www.traumameasuresglobal.com/itq

The questionnaire is available in many different languages.

DIAGNOSTIC ALGORITHMS are as follows:

PTSD. A diagnosis of PTSD requires the endorsement of one of two symptoms from the symptom clusters of

(1) re-experiencing in the here and now,

(2) avoidance, and

(3) sense of current threat,

plus endorsement of at least one indicator of functional impairment associated with these symptoms. Endorsement of a symptom or functional impairment item is defined as a score > 2.

Complex PTSD. A diagnosis of C-PTSD requires the endorsement of one of two symptoms from each of the three PTSD
symptoms clusters (re-experiencing in the here and now, avoidance, and sense of current threat) and one of two symptoms from each of the three Disturbances in Self-Organization (DSO) clusters:

(1) affective dysregulation,

(2) negative self-concept, and

(3) disturbances in relationships.

Functional impairment must be identified where at least one indicator of functional impairment is endorsed related to the PTSD symptoms and one indicator of functional impairment is endorsed related to the DSO symptoms. Endorsement of a symptom or functional impairment item is defined as a score > 2.

An individual can receive either a diagnosis of PTSD or CPTSD, not both.

If a person meets the criteria for CPTSD, that person does not also receive a PTSD diagnosis.
Scoring instructions are available at the end of this document.

There is also a child and adolescent version:

“This International Trauma Questionnaire Child and Adolescent Version (ITQ-CA) is a brief, simply-worded measure of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder symptoms for use with people aged 7 to 17.”

https://www.traumameasuresglobal.com/itqca

International Trauma Questionnaire

Diagnostic Scoring

PTSD

For Questions P1 and P2: a sum greater or equal to 2 must be scored to meet the criteria for Re-experiencing in the here and now.

For Questions P3 and P4: a sum greater or equal to 2 must be scored to meet the criteria for Avoidance

For Questions P5 and P6: a sum greater or equal to 2 must be scored to meet the criteria for Sense of Current Threat

AND

At least one of the questions P7, P8 or P9 at the sum of greater than or equal to 2 meets the criteria for PTSD functional impairment (PTSDFI)

Complex PTSD

For Questions C1 and C2: a sum greater or equal to 2 must be scored to meet the criteria for Affective Dysregulation

For Questions C3 and C4: a sum greater or equal to 2 must be scored to meet the criteria for Negative Self-Concept

For Questions C5 and C6: a sum greater or equal to 2 must be scored to meet the criteria for Disturbances in Relationships

AND

At least one of the questions C7, C8 or C9 at the sum of greater than or equal to 2 meets the criteria for Disturbances in Self-Organisation functional impairment

PTSD is diagnosed if the criteria for PTSD are met but NOT for Disturbances in Self-Organisation.
CPTSD is diagnosed if the criteria for PTSD are met AND criteria for Disturbances in Self-Organisation are met.
Not meeting the criteria for PTSD or meeting only the criteria for Disturbances in Self-Organisation results in no diagnosis.

This Post Has 3 Comments

Anonymous 5 August 2023 Reply

What if the answer is to all the questions are extremely for a person what would their diagnosis be?
childrenofnarcissists 5 August 2023 Reply

Hi Anon,

The diagnosis for someone who answers ‘extremely’ to all the questions would be that they have Complex PTSD.
Duck 10 June 2024 Reply

But, how do I get help

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Sarah Graham

I am a Counsellor, based in Bournemouth in the UK, with specialist knowledge of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. I am trained in treating Complex Trauma. I work online and am insured to work in most places in the world.

Link to my Counselling Website Here

Children of Narcissists