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Psychometric Evaluation of the Child PTSD Symptom Scale in Spanish and English

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Abstract

Given the consistent growth of the Latino population in the United States, there is a critical need for validated Spanish measures to assess posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in children. The current study examines the psychometric properties of the Child PTSD Symptom Scale (CPSS). We examined 259 children (8–17 years) who had experienced a recent traumatic event. Study measures were completed in Spanish (n = 106; boys = 58, girls = 48) or in English (n = 153; boys = 96, girls = 57). In addition to internal consistency, confirmatory factor analyses were conducted by testing four models to examine construct validity: (1) PTS single-factor, (2) DSM-IV three-factor, (3) Numbing four-factor, and (4) Dysphoria four-factor models. Findings demonstrated good internal consistency for both the English and Spanish versions of the CPSS. The English version revealed superior fit to the data for several models of PTS symptoms structure compared to the Spanish version. The current study demonstrated construct validity for the English CPSS, but not for the Spanish CPSS. Future studies will examine additional alternative models as well as convergent and discriminant validity of the Spanish CPSS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, 4650 Sunset Blvd. MS#12, Los Angeles, CA, 90027, USA

    Rika M. L. Meyer, Jeffrey I. Gold, Virginia N. Beas & Christina M. Young

  2. Center for Injury Research and Prevention, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Nancy Kassam-Adams

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Nancy Kassam-Adams

  4. Departments of Anesthesiology and Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA

    Jeffrey I. Gold

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  1. Rika M. L. Meyer
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  2. Jeffrey I. Gold
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  3. Virginia N. Beas
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  4. Christina M. Young
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  5. Nancy Kassam-Adams
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Correspondence to Rika M. L. Meyer.

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Meyer, R.M.L., Gold, J.I., Beas, V.N. et al. Psychometric Evaluation of the Child PTSD Symptom Scale in Spanish and English. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 46, 438–444 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-014-0482-2

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