Administration and Scoring of the SPRINT Interview-rated Version

Before administering the SPRINT as an interview, the rater should have
taken a full trauma history and obtained an idea of the particular event
that is causing most trouble at the time of the interview. This event can
be from any time in the subject’s life. The event should be identified
and listed on the scale copy. The interviewer can then elicit the main
PTSD manifestations and complete the PTSD inventory at that time. The period of inquiry is for the previous week.

Items 1, 2, 3 and 4 cover the DSM categories of intrusion, avoidance,
numbing and hyperarousal. (The scale does not contain the most recent
additions of cognitive changes or self-esteem currently in DSM-5). Item
5 assesses somatic symptoms and item 6 enquires about resilience
under stress. Items 7 and 8 assess the extent to which symptoms or
behaviors have interfered with daily activities or interpersonal
relationships.

Each item is rated from 0 to 4, where
0 = Not at all
1 = A little bit
2 = Moderately
3 = Quite a lot
4 = Very much

From these eight items, a total can be derived, ranging from 0 to 32.
These items are considered to provide an accurate measure of core and
associated PTSD symptoms. However, if desired, one can total up items
1, 2, 3 and 4 to obtain a PTSD inventory that better matches core diagnostic criteria of PTSD, other than the absence of the new DSM-5 items concerning negative self-beliefs, distorted cognitions about the trauma, persistent negative affect and reckless behavior. Where it is intended to use the SPRINT as a measure of treatment effect, items 9 and 10 can be completed too.

Item 9 provides a measure of the percentage change since beginning treatment, ranging from “No change”, or 0%, all the way up to “As well
as it could be” or 100%.


Item 10 offers a five-category choice of improvement, based on the
widely-used Clinical Global Rating of Improvement (CGI-I) that is used in
most clinical trials of PTSD and other psychiatric disorders. The choices
are Worse (=5), No change (=4), Minimally (=3), Much (=2), Very much
(=1).

These last two items, as noted, are only to be completed in the
context of ongoing treatment.

Additional information about the SPRINT can be found at the National Center for Biotechnology Information site.

To learn more about the PTSD SPRINT scale, navigate to the following pages on the site:

Requests to obtain the SPRINT can be sent to mail@cd-risc.com.

To learn more about post-traumatic stress, visit the NIMH page on the topic.