NCJ Number
224128
Journal
Child Abuse & Neglect Volume: 32 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2008 Pages: 627-636
Date Published
June 2008
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study assessed the psychometric properties of the Swedish version of the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC) and examined traumatic symptoms in a normative group of Swedish children and adolescents.
Abstract
The study determined that the Swedish version of TSCC is a screening instrument with satisfactory psychometric qualities that can identify trauma symptoms among children and adolescents who have reported experiencing trauma or for whom clinicians have identified traumatic experiences. The study found good reliability for the TSCC, such as internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha) for the total scale .94, ranging in the clinical scales .78-.83, and test-retest for the total scale r=.81, ranging in the clinical scales .67-.81, were found. The confirmatory 6-factor analysis explained 50.7 percent of the variance. Other validity measures, such as concurrent validity and criterion-related validity, were also found to be satisfactory. The normative sample of Swedish children and adolescents showed lower means on the subscale than has been reported in previous studies from a number of other countries. The TSCC is a self-report instrument designed to identify a broad range of symptoms of traumatic experiences in children and adolescents, ages 8-17. The 54-item questionnaire takes approximately 15-20 minutes to administer. Study participants consisted of a normative group of 728 Swedish children and adolescents ages 10-17 and a clinical group of 91 children and adolescents known to have experienced sexual abuse. A test-retest procedure was conducted with 79 participants from the normative group. 3 tables and 41 references