Los Angeles Symptom Checklist (LASC)

King, 1995

Description

The LASC is a 43-item self-report measure of PTSD and associated features. The LASC does not key to any specific trauma and inquires about the presence of problems in the past month. The 17 DSM-IV symptoms of PTSD are embedded among other items that assess more general psychological distress. Items are rated on a 5-point scale ranging from 0 ("no problem") to 4 ("extreme problem").

A preliminary diagnosis of PTSD can be derived by using DSM-IV criteria with a symptom counting toward diagnosis if it is rated at 2 or higher. In addition, a continuous measure of PTSD symptom severity can also be computed by summing the ratings of the 17 items corresponding to the symptoms of PTSD. A sum of all 43 items provides an index of global assessment of distress and adjustment problems that may be a consequence of trauma exposure.

Sample Item

• "Difficulty falling asleep." (Respondents are asked to rate how much of a problem the item is for them.)

Versions

An LASC for adolescents is also available.

References

King, Lynda A; King, Daniel W; Leskin, Gregory Alan; Foy, David W. (1995). The Los Angeles Symptom Checklist: a self-report measure of posttraumatic stress disorder. Assessment, 2, 1-17

Additional Reviews

Orsillo (2001) (PDF) p. 270.

Orsillo, Susan M. (2001). Measures for acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. In M.M. Antony & S.M. Orsillo (Eds.), Practitioner's guide to empirically based measures of anxiety (pp. 255-307). New York: KluwerAcademic/Plenum. PILOTS ID 24368

To Obtain Scale

David Foy, PhD
Graduate School of Education & Psychology
Pepperdine University
16830 Ventura Boulevard, Suite #200
Encino, CA 91436
Email: dfoy@pepperdine.edu

Measure availability: Information on measures is available to everyone. However, the assessment tools themselves can only be distributed to qualified mental health professionals and researchers. We maintain measures developed by affiliated staff of the National Center for PTSD.