title: The child behavior checklist PTSD scale: screening for PTSD in young children with high exposure to trauma.
abstract: The objective of this study was to examine the validity of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) subscale to screen for PTSD in children attending an inner-city early childhood mental health center. Using various measures, we assessed 51 preschool-age children with high exposure to trauma receiving outpatient child-parent psychotherapy for PTSD. We compared 15 items on the CBCL, a proposed subscale indicative of PTSD, to the UCLA-PTSD Index and to clinical diagnosis based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) and the Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (rev. ed.; DC:0-3; Zero to Three, 2005). Using the DC:0-3 criteria, 24% of the children were diagnosed with PTSD, but only 4% using the DSM-IV. The CBCL-PTSD subscale did not reach significant sensitivity or specificity to be a valuable screening tool for PTSD in this population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. joanne.loeb@einstein.yu.edu
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Loeb
authors.forename: Erin M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Stettler
authors.forename: Traci
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gavila
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chinitz
mesh_terms: D057189:Checklist; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009519:New York City; D011594:Psychometrics; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000523:psychology*