title: Development and validation of the Child Post-Traumatic Cognitions Inventory (CPTCI).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Negative trauma-related cognitions have been found to be a significant factor in the maintenance of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adults. Initial studies of such appraisals in trauma-exposed children and adolescents suggest that this is an important line of research in youth, yet empirically validated measures for use with younger populations are lacking. A measure of negative trauma-related cognitions for use with children and adolescents, the Child Post-Traumatic Cognitions Inventory (CPTCI), is presented. The measure was devised as an age-appropriate version of the adult Post-Traumatic Cognitions Inventory (Foa et al., 1999).
  
  
  METHODS
  The CPTCI was developed and validated within a large (n = 570) sample, comprising community and trauma-exposed samples of children and adolescents aged 6-18 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Principal components analysis suggested a two-component structure. These components were labelled 'permanent and disturbing change' and 'fragile person in a scary world', and were each found to possess good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, and discriminative validity. The reliability and validity of these sub-scales was present regardless of whether the measure was completed in the acute phase or several months after a trauma. Scores on these sub-scales did not vary with age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The CPTCI is a reliable and valid measure that is not specific to the type of trauma exposure, and shows considerable promise as a research and clinical tool. The structure of this measure suggests that appraisals concerning the more abstract consequences of a trauma, as well as physical threat and vulnerability, are pertinent factors in trauma-exposed children and adolescents, even prepubescent children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK. r.meiser-stedman@iop.kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Meiser-Stedman
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bryant
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Salmon
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yule
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dalgleish
authors.forename: Reginald D V
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Nixon