Assessment of Posttraumatic Symptoms in Children: Development and Preliminary Validation of Parent and Child Scales

Abstract

The authors report on the development and initial validation of two brief measures of children’s posttraumatic symptoms: a child self-report and a parent report. Intended applications include postdisaster screening, tracking children’s recovery in research and clinical settings, and screening for posttraumatic stress among children with various presenting problems. A sample of 206 urban and rural schoolchildren, Grades 3 through 8, and their parents, completed these measures as well as a checklist of the child’s trauma-loss history. Findings provide preliminary support for the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, content validity, and criterion validity of each measure. We recommend cautious use of the measures, and suggest additional avenues of study.