Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC) CES 728 Advanced Assessment Regent University, Summer 2010 Taquisa Simmons, James Dalton, Nora Coleman, Angel Knoverek
Purpose Self-report measure of posttraumatic distress and related psychological symptomatology (Briere, 1996). Evaluates children who have expereinced truaumatic events, including childhood physical and sexual abuse, victimization by peers, major losses, the witnessing of violence done to others, and natural disasters (Briere, 1996) Two versions: TSCC & TSCC-A
Intended Use Male and female children Ages 8-16 years Normative adjustments for 17 year olds Individual or group administration
Recommendations for use Not designed for use as a diagnostic tool. Should be used to examine symptom profiles and symptom course following trauma. (Ohan, Myers, & Collett, 2002, p. 1408) Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children (TSCYC) aged from 3 to 12 years is currently under development (Briere et al., in press)
Norm Group o Derived from large samples (total N>3,000) of nonclinical children across the United States (Evans, et al, 1994; Friedrich, 1995; Singer, et al., 1995) o Separate norms and T-scores are available according to sex and age (8-12 and 13-16) o Race not a major predictor of TSCC scores
Psychometric Properties Reliable for all scales except for Sexual Concerns Convergent and predictive validity in samples of traumatized and nontraumatized children and adolescents Areas of sensitivity: posttraumatic difficulties, the effects of therapy for abused children, and the effects of child protection systems intervention
Strengths Large norm sample TSCC: 3,008 children (Knight, et al., 2008) TSI: 828 adults (Briere & Elliott, 1997) Short administration time Widely used (Elhai, Gray, Kashdan, & Franklin, 2005) Self-report Alternate version omits questions of sexual concerns
Weaknesses Non-clinical norm samples Non-representative sample Can not accurately distinguish malingering individuals (Rosen, Sawchuck, Atkins, Brown, Price, & Lees-Haley, 2006)
Cultural Relevance Shows strong reliability and validity in use in evaluating children in China affected by HIV/AIDS (Li, et al. 2009) Strong reliability & validity in Sweedish sample (Nilsson, Wadsby, & Svedin, 2008)
Administration Test Materials Professional Manual TSCC Booklet Professional Requirements Individual or Group Administration Environmental Considerations
Scoring Missing Responses Calculating Raw Scores Converting to Standard Scores Plotting the TSCC Profile
Interpretation Normative Comparisons Interpreting Scores Validity Underreponse (UND) Hyperresponse (HYP)
Clinical Scales Depression Anxiety Anger Posttraumatic Stress (PTS) Dissociation Sexual Concerns Critical Items
Overall Impressions Easy to administer Time efficient (approximately 10 minutes for the client to complete Straightforward scoring methods Provides subscales useful in treatment planning Critical items may flag immediate treatment issues
References American Psychological Association. (1985). Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. Washington, DC: Author. Briere, J., & Elliott, D. M. (1997). Psychological assessment of interpersonal victimization effects in adults and children. Psychotherapy: Research & Practice, 34, 353-364. Retrieved from http://www.johnbriere.com/articles.htm Briere, J. (1996) Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children: Professional Manual. Luntz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources. Briere, J., Johnson, K., Bissada, A., Damon, L., Crouch, J., Gil, E., Hanson, R., & Ernst, V. (in press). The Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children (TSCYC): Reliability and association with abuse exposure in a multi-site study. Child Abuse and Neglect. Boyle, G. J. (1987). Review of the (1985) Standards for educational and psychological testing: AREA, PA and NAME. Australian Journal of Psychology, 39, 235-237. http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/00049530.asp Elhai, J. D., Gray, M. J., Kashdan, T. B., & Franklin, C. L. (2005). Which instruments are most commonly used to assess traumatic event exposure and posttraumatic effects?: A survey of traumatic stress professionals. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 18, 541-545. doi: 10.1002/jts.20062 Fricker, A., Smith, D.W. Trauma Specific versus Generic Measurement of Distress and the Validity of Self-Reported Symptoms in Sexually Abused Children. Journal of Child sexual Abuse,V10(4),51-66. doi: 10.1300/J070v10n01_03. Knight, E. D., Smith, J. B., Martin, L. M., Lewis, T., & the LONGSCAN Investigators (2008). Measures for assessment of functioning and outcomes in longitudinal research on child abuse, Volume 3: Early adolescence (ages 12-14). Retrieved from: http://www.iprc.unc.edu/longscan/ Li, X., Fang, X., Stanton, B., Zhao, B., Lin, X., Zhao,... Chen, X. (2009). Psychometric evaluation of the Trauma Symptoms Checklist for Children (TSCC) among children affected by HIV/AIDS in China. AIDS Care, 21, 261-270. doi: 10.1080/09540120802195119 Nilsson, D., Wadsby, M., & Svedin, C. G. (2008). The psychometric properties of the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC) in a sample of Swedish children. Child Abuse & Neglect, 32, 627-636. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2007.09.009 Ohan, J.L., Myers, K., & Collett, B.R. (2002). Ten-year review of rating scales, IV: Scales assessing trauma and its effects. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 41:12, 1401-1422. doi: 10.1097/00004583-200212000-00012. Rosen, G. M., Sawchuk, C. N., Atkins, D. C., Brown, M., Price, J. R., & Lees-Haley, P. R. (2006). Risk of false positives when identifying malingered profiles using the Trauma Symptom Inventory. Journal of Personality Assessment, 86, 329-333. doi: 10.1207/s15327752jpa8603_08