The CTSQ is a 10-item self-report screen which can be used to assist in the identification of children at risk of developing PTSD. The questions are designed to assess traumatic stress reactions in children following a potentially traumatic event.
Overview
CTSQ
Kenardy, J. A., Spence, S. H., & Macleod, A. C. (2006). Screening for posttraumatic stress disorder in children after accidental injury. Pediatrics, 118(3), 1002-1009.
Professor Justin Kenardy, email j.kenardy@uq.edu.au . The CTSQ is freely available, however it is copyrighted. Please register interest through a form on this website: https://www.youthdisasterrecovery.com.au/page/information/for-teachers/ and if it is used for research, forward a copy of the results to Justin.
Administration
Dichotomous measure: Yes = 1, No = 0
| Domains | Scales | Sample Items |
|---|---|---|
| Re-experiencing (5 items) | ||
| Yes/No | Do you have bad dreams about the event? | |
| Hyper-arousal (5 items) | Yes/No | Do you feel grumpy or lose your temper? |
Training
Parallel or Alternate Forms
The CTSQ is a child version of the Trauma Screening Questionnaire developed by Brewin et al. (2002), and was adapted by rewording the questions to make them more comprehensible for children.
Psychometrics
A score equal or above 5, indicates the child is at high risk of developing PTSD.
| Type: | Rating | Statistics | Min | Max | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test-Retest | |||||
| Internal Consistency | 0.69 | alpha |
Kenardy et al. (2006).
The CTSQ was developed from the TSQ (Brewing et al. 2002), which is an excellent predictor of PTSD in adult populations. This version was re-worded for better comprehension by children. No problems with item comprehension were identified during pilot testing (see Kenardy et al. 2006).
| Validity Type | Not known | Not found | Nonclincal Samples | Clinical Samples | Diverse Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Convergent/Concurrent | x | ||||
| Discriminant | x |
| Not Known | Not Found | Nonclinical Samples | Clinical Samples | Diverse Samples | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Predictive Validity: | |||||
| Postdictive Validity: |
ROC Curve analyses found that the CTSQ was significantly better than chance at predicting PTSD symptoms at six months (AUC = .78, p < .001). These analysis also found the CTSQ was more accurate at predicting PTSD in children at six months post-trauma than the Children's Impact of Events Scale (CIES-8) (see Kenardy et al. 2006). Analyses also indicated that inclusion of heart rate with the screen increased the accuracy of identifying children likely to develop PTSD symptoms (Olsson et al. 2008). Other research found the CTSQ identified 14% of their sample to be at risk of PTSD, and of these children, 55% were diagnosed with PTSD using the CAPS-CA criteria (which included 18% also diagnosed with the DSM-IV criteria) (Charuvastra et al, 2010). Concurrent Validity: The CTSQ is significantly positively correlated with the CIES-8 (r = .56, p = .01).
Translations
| Language: | Translated | Back Translated | Reliable | Good Psychometrics | Similar Factor Structure | Norms Available | Meaure Developed for this Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Arabic | Yes | ||||||
| 2. Croatian | Yes |
Population Information
Children aged 7-16 years old, were recruited while admitted to hospital from an accidental physical injury. Children were excluded if they had an intellectual impairment, had sustained a head injury, were in foster care, or if the injury resulted from child abuse.
| Population Type: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pros & Cons/References
Brief Easy to administer and score Free and easily available Preliminary psychometrics appear promising More accurate than the commonly used CIES-8 Demonstrated potential feasibility in a Screen and Treat program in a school setting (Charuvastra et al.2010)
The CTSQ needs more psychometric testing in different trauma populations Needs to be evaluated using child report on diagnostic PTSD interviews. The CTSQ was developed as a predictive screener, so there is no data available on the measure's ability to screen concurrently.
Brewin, C.R., Rose, S., Andrews, B., et al. (2002). Brief screening instrument for post-traumatic stress disorder. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 181(2), 158-162. Charuvastra, A., Goldfarb, E., Petkova, E., & Cloitre, M. (2010). Implementation of a screen and treat program for child posttraumatic stress disorder in a school setting after a school suicide. Journal of traumatic stress, 23(4), 500-503. doi: 10.1002/jts.20546 Kenardy, J. A., Spence, S. H., & Macleod, A. C. (2006). Screening for posttraumatic stress disorder in children after accidental injury. Pediatrics, 118(3), 1002-1009. Olsson, K. A., Kenardy, J. A., De Young, A. C., & Spence, S. H. (2008). Predicting children's post-traumatic stress symptoms following hospitalization for accidental injury: combining the Child Trauma Screening Questionnaire and heart rate. Journal of anxiety disorders, 22(8), 1447-1453. doi: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2008.02.007 Developer of Review: