Subjective traumatic outlook as a screening tool for psychological trauma: Cut-off values and diagnostic criteria

•The psychometric characteristics of the STO support its validity.•Cut-off scores of 13 and up are recommended as criteria for PTSD high risk per DSM and ICD-11.•Cut-off scores of 14 and up are recommended as criteria for PTSD high risk per ICD.•Cut-off scores of 15 and up are recommended as criteria for CPTSD risk per ICD.•STO may be used as screening tool for risk of PTSD symptomatology in the general population. The Subjective Traumatic Outlook (STO) deals with changes in individuals’ perception, following a traumatic event and the difficulties of integrating pre-trauma past memories, inner traumatic memories, and current daily life. Although this short scale has excellent psychometric properties its cut-off scores for potential clinical use have yet to be established. In addition, due to the discrepancy between the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) in the meaurement of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the present study aimed at revalidating the STO and establishing cut-off scores for potential clinical use, based on both approaches to measure PTSD and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD). Three hundred forty-three adults who were recruited through social media apps filled in self-report online questionnaires dealing with subjective perception of psychological trauma, PTSD and CPTSD. Results revalidate the STO as a screening tool for PTSD and CPTSD. We recommend a STO cut-off score of 13 and above when using the ICD-11 PTSD proposed algorithm along the PCL-5 cutoff score and a STO cut-off score of 15 when using the ICD-11 CPTSD proposed algorithm. In light of the present findings, the integration of DSM and ICD approaches is discussed.