To introduce the LEC-5, you should describe the purpose of the checklist or read aloud the instructions at the top of the assessment:
“Listed below are a number of difficult or stressful things that sometimes happen to people. For each event, check one or more of the boxes to the right to indicate that: (a) it happened to you personally; (b) you witnessed it happen to someone else; (c) you learned about it happening to a close family member or close friend; (d) you were exposed to it as part of your job (for example, paramedic, police, military, or other first responder); (e) you’re not sure if it fits; or (f) it doesn’t apply to you. Be sure to consider your entire life (growing up as well as adulthood) as you go through the list of events.”
Hand the checklist to the interviewee, who can complete the measure independently, checking all applicable boxes.
After administering the checklist, review and, if the respondent reports experiencing multiple traumatic events, identify an index (worst) event to serve as the basis for the CAPS-5 symptom assessment. The index event can be a single incident (e.g., an isolated sexual assault) or may consist of more than one closely related incidents (e.g., the worst parts of the interviewee’s combat experiences). Some self-report measures, such as the extended self-report version of the LEC-5, include specific items designed to identify the index event.
If you are not using a measure that explicitly identifies the index event, it will be important to query the respondent about which event was the worst.
Select Helpful Strategies for suggestions for assisting interviewees who find it difficult to choose their most traumatic event.