Citation

Napper LE, Fisher DG, Jaffe A, Jones RT, Lamphear VS, Joseph L, Grimaldi EM. J. Child Fam. Stud. 2015; 24(5): 1285-1294.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, Loyola Marymount University, 1 LMU Dr. Ste. #4711, Los Angeles, CA 90045, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10826-014-9936-1

PMID

26085785

Abstract

Brief and age-appropriate measures of trauma-related symptoms are useful for identifying children in need of clinical services. The current study examines the psychometric properties of the 23-item Child's Reaction to Traumatic Events Scale-Revised (CRTES-R). The CRTES-R includes subscales assessing hyperarousal, avoidance and intrusion. To date, no studies have examined the psychometric properties of this revised measure or cross-cultural differences in its factor structure. Two samples of (a) children (ages 6-21) who had experienced a hurricane in the USA or Grenada (N = 135), and (b) Ugandan children (ages 8-17) who had experienced a variety of traumatic events (N = 339) completed the CRTES-R in English or Lugandan. Confirmatory factor analysis supported an empirically adjusted model with three modified latent factors in both the English (χ(2)/df = 1.34, CFI =.90, RMSEA =.05) and Lugandan samples (χ(2)/df = 1.45, CFI =.93, RMSEA =.04). Although the analysis supported separate hyperarousal, avoidance and intrusion subscales, the items that loaded on each factor differed from the original CRTES-R subscales. The English version of the CRTES-R showed good concurrent validity with the Kauai Recovery Index measure of trauma symptoms. Those using the CRTES-R to assess children's experiences of the different symptom types should consider using the empirically-derived subscales described in this paper; however, those who wish to capture a broad spectrum of PTSD symptoms should consider using all the original CRTES-R items and calculating a total score.

Language: en