Validating the Child Trauma Screen Among a Cross-Sectional Sample of Youth and Caregivers in Pediatric Primary Care

Abstract

Pediatric primary care providers have an important role in addressing the health effects of trauma, yet routine screening is rare. This study evaluated whether the 10-item Child Trauma Screen (CTS) could identify youth experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Participants were 107 caregiver-youth pairs aged 7 to 17 years old, 55.8% male, and 76.4% Hispanic who were recruited at an urban pediatric primary care clinic. Youth and caregivers separately completed the CTS and the UCLA PTSD Reaction Index for DSM-5 (RI-5) prior to their medical visit. Half of youth experienced at least one type of trauma, and one sixth reported elevated PTSD symptoms. The CTS was highly correlated with the RI-5 on PTSD symptom severity, and correctly classified 85% of youth based on likely PTSD diagnosis. The brief CTS can accurately identify youth suffering from PTSD symptoms, and may be particularly feasible to implement in busy primary care practices.