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A Parental Tool to Screen for Posttraumatic Stress in Children: First Psychometric Results
Author(s) -
Verlinden Eva,
Laar Yvette L.,
Meijel Els P. M.,
Opmeer Brent C.,
Beer Renée,
Roos Carlijn,
Bicanic Iva A. E.,
LamersWinkelman Francien,
Olff Miranda,
Boer Frits,
Lindauer Ramón J. L.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.21929
Subject(s) - psychology , convergent validity , posttraumatic stress , clinical psychology , psychometrics , anxiety , test validity , anxiety disorder , internal consistency , discriminant validity , psychiatry , developmental psychology
The Children's Revised Impact of Event Scale (CRIES‐13) is a brief self‐report measure designed to screen children for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study investigates the psychometric properties of a Dutch version of the CRIES‐13–parent version and evaluates its correlation with the child version. A sample of 59 trauma‐exposed children (8 years–18 years) and their parents completed an assessment including the CRIES‐13 (child/parent version) along with the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for DSM‐IV: Parent version. Results demonstrated good internal consistency (α = .87) with acceptable values for the 3 subscales. A strong correlation ( r = .73) with another measure of PTSD and lower correlations with a behavioral measure ( r = .15 to .38) were found, confirming the convergent/divergent validity. A cutoff score ≥ 31 emerged as the best balance between sensitivity and specificity, and correctly classified 83.6% of all children as having a diagnosis of PTSD. This study provides support for the reliability and validity of the CRIES‐13–parent version as a screening measure for posttraumatic stress in children.