A short form of the trauma symptom checklist for young children

Assessment of PTSD and posttraumatic symptomatology in very young children: A systematic review

CONTEXT

Very young children are said to be a vulnerable group for exposure to trauma, and for a psychopathological response (e.g., PTSD) after a risk-exposure. The specific assessment of young children is necessary to enable them to be enrolled in an appropriate care pathway.

OBJECTIVE

The objective was to identify the instruments available in the English language for the assessment of posttraumatic symptoms in very young children (from 0- to 5-year old).

DESIGN

This article reports on a systematic review, conducted using the search engines Google Scholar, Science Direct, PsycArticles, and PubMed.

RESULTS

Nine instruments are available to specifically assess traumatic symptomatology in very young children (0-7-year old), five instruments are available for the broader assessment of very young children (1-6-year old), six instruments are available for the assessment of traumatic symptoms in very young children and in older children (2-18-year old), one instrument did not correspond to any category. These 21 tools are adapted to different ages, built according to different objectives, and do not rely on the same diagnostic algorithm.

CONCLUSION

Future research should compare the instruments quantitatively to identify those most specific and sensitive to the assessment of trauma symptoms in young children.

The Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children: A Psychometric Review

The Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children (TSCYC) is a 90-item caregiver-report measure of childhood traumatic stress and abuse-related experiences in children, ages three to twelve years old.

PURPOSE

The objective of this review is to examine the current empirical evidence (n = 22) regarding the psychometric properties of the TSCYC.

METHOD

A variety of study designs were reviewed for psychometric evidence supporting the reliability and validity of the TSCYC.

RESULTS

The psychometric evidence for the TSCYC indicates it is a reliable scale. However, evidence of validity is moderate and focuses on older children.

DISCUSSION

Clinicians may utilize the TSCYC to support a PTSD diagnosis in children. Further psychometric exploration would strengthen the body of evidence for younger children (ages 3-5) who have had traumatic experiences.

Examination of a New Brief Screener to Measure Trauma Symptoms and Violence Exposure Among Young Children

The purpose of this study was to create a reliable, quick and easy to administer screening measure of violence exposure and trauma for children from infancy through age 7. In a sample of 6,676 children, caregivers completing a 22-item screener reported nearly one out of five youth had been exposed as witness or victim to at least one kind of violence. For trauma, caregivers reported that their children had trouble going to sleep at least sometimes (15.83%), had cried or had a tantrum to exhaustion (15.61%) and had difficulty concentrating or focusing (15.55%). Analyses showed reliable internal consistency for violence exposure (.74) and trauma (.85) scales. Factor analyses revealed a single trauma factor and two violence exposure factors, witnessing and victimization. These data provide support for a brief screening measure for trauma and violence exposure in children from birth through age seven that can be administered by minimally trained staff in public systems and community-based agencies who can then refer children and families to necessary assessment and treatment services.

The assessment of developmental trauma in children and adolescents: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

The assessment of children and young people with history of complex developmental trauma presents a significant challenge to services. Traditional diagnostic categories such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are argued to be of limited value, and while the proposed 'Developmental Trauma Disorder' definition attempts to address this debate, associated assessment tools have yet to be developed. This review builds on a previous review of assessment measures, undertaken in 2005.

AIM

To identify trauma assessment tools developed or evaluated since 2004 and determine which are developmentally appropriate for children or adolescents with histories of complex trauma.

METHOD

A systematic search of electronic databases was conducted with explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria.

RESULTS

A total of 35 papers were identified evaluating 29 measures assessing general functioning and mental health ( N = 10), PTSD ( N = 7) and trauma symptomatology outside, or in addition to, PTSD ( N = 11). Studies were evaluated on sample quality, trauma/adversity type, as well as demographic and psychometric data. Distinction was made between measures validated for children (0-12 years) and adolescents (12-18 years).

CONCLUSION

Few instruments could be recommended for immediate use as many required further validation. The Assessment Checklist questionnaires, designed with a developmental and attachment focus, were the most promising tools.

A Short Form of the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children

The purpose of the current study was to develop a short form (SF) of the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC). The TSCC-SF) maintained 29 items, from the original 54 items, in a sample (N = 215) of sexually abused children who were seeking treatment at a child advocacy center. Exploratory factor analysis refined the original measure, and confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence for best fit for a six-factor, 29-item model. The TSCC-SF evidenced good internal reliability and showed convergent validity with child ratings of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms obtained from the University of California at Los Angeles PTSD Reaction Index. The TSCC-SF has promise as a shorter assessment measure with sexually abused children in numerous settings, including child advocacy centers and pediatric clinics, where efficient screening and assessment are essential for providing the best standard of care.