CTS - Child Trauma Screen

The CTS is a 10-item screening measure of trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms consistent with DSM-5 criteria for children age 6-17 (age 3-6 version is in development). It is intended for use by clinical or non-clinical staff in any child-serving setting, including behavioral health, pediatrics, schools, child welfare, juvenile justice, and other programs. The CTS can be administered as an interview or self-report and both child- and caregiver report versions are available.

Overview

Acronym: 

CTS

Authors: 
Lang, J.M., Ph.D. & Connell, C.M., Ph.D.
Citation: 

Lang, J. M., & Connell, C. M. (2017). Development and Validation of a Brief Trauma Screening Measure for Children: The Child Trauma Screen. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 9(3), 390-398. doi:10.1037/tra0000235 

Contact Information: 

Can be downloaded from www.chdi.org/cts

Cost: 
Free
Copyrighted: 
Yes
Domain Assessed: 
Trauma Exposure/Reminders
Traumatic Stress
Age Range: 
6-17; A version for age 3-6 is in development
Measure Type: 
Screening
Measure Format: 
Questionnaire

Administration

Number of Items: 
10
Average Time to Complete (min): 
5-10 minutes
Reporter Type: 
Self
Average Time to Score (min): 
<1 minute
Periodicity: 
Whenever screening is indicated; suggest annual re-screening or if concerns about trauma exposure or reactions.
Response Format: 

Four trauma exposure items: dichotomous (yes/no) Six PTSD items: 4 point likert scale  

Materials Needed: 
Paper/Pencil
Sample Items: 
DomainsScaleSample Items

Training

Training to Administer: 
Training by Experienced Clinician (less than 4 hours)
Manual/Video
Other
Training to Interpret: 
Manual/Video

Parallel or Alternate Forms

Parallel Forms: 
Yes
Different Age Forms: 
Yes
Alternative Forms Description: 

Child and caregiver reports available; Version for age 3-6 (caregiver report is available and under development)

Psychometrics

Clinical Cutoffs: 
Yes
Reliability: 
TypeRatingStatisticsMinMaxAvg
Test-Retest
Internal Consistency
Inter-rater
Parallel/Alternate Forms
References for Reliability: 

Lang, J. M., & Connell, C. M. (2018). The Child Trauma Screen: A follow‐up validation. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 31(4), 540-548.

Lang, J. M., & Connell, C. M. (2017). Development and validation of a brief trauma screening measure for children: The Child Trauma Screen. Psychological trauma: theory, research, practice, and policy, 9(3), 390.

Construct Validity: 
Validity TypeNot knownNot foundNonclincal SamplesClinical SamplesDiverse Samples
Convergent/ConcurrentXXX
DiscriminantXX
Sensitive to Change
Intervention Effects
Longitudinal/Maturation Effects
Sensitive to Theoretically Distinct Groups
Factorial Validity
Criterion Validity: 
Not KnownNot FoundNonclinical SamplesClinical SamplesDiverse Samples
Predictive Validity:
Postdictive Validity:
References for Criterion Validity: 

Lang, J. M., & Connell, C. M. (2017). Development and validation of a brief trauma screening measure for children: The Child Trauma Screen. Psychological trauma: theory, research, practice, and policy, 9(3), 390.

Translations

Languages: 
English
Chinese
Portuguese
Spanish
Translation Quality: 
Language:Translated234567
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Population Information

Population Used for Measure Development: 

The CTS has been evaluated in three psychometric studies, including two of children in behavioral health clinics (2017, 2018) and one in a pediatric primary care clinic (2021). The three samples of children (cumulative N=367) were diverse by race/ethnicity, gender, and age (from 6 to 18). For example, children in the initial validation study were 55% male, 33% Black, 31% Hispanic, 27% Caucasian, and 8% other race/ethnicity.  

Use with Diverse Populations: 
Population Type: 123456

Pros & Cons/References

Pros: 

Empirically developed and supported; very brief; free; easy to administer and interperet

Cons: 

Does not provide a diagnosis; Does not include all possible trauma exposure or reactions

References: 

measure for children: The Child Trauma Screen. Psychological trauma: theory, research, practice, and policy, 9(3), 390.

 

Lang, J. M., & Connell, C. M. (2018). The Child Trauma Screen: A follow‐up validation. Journal of traumatic stress, 31(4), 540-548.

 

Lang, J. M., Connell, C. M., & Macary, S. (2021). Validating the Child Trauma Screen Among a Cross-Sectional Sample of Youth and Caregivers in Pediatric Primary Care. Clinical Pediatrics, 60(4-5), 252-258. https://doi.org/10.1177/00099228211005302

Last Updated: 
Thursday, November 10, 2022