title: Family Psychosocial Risk Screening in Infants and Older Children in the Acute Pediatric Hospital Setting Using the Psychosocial Assessment Tool.
abstract: To examine the validity of the Psychosocial Assessment Tool (PAT) with families of infants (<2 years) and children admitted to hospital with acute life-threatening illnesses.
  
  
  
  A total of 235 parents of 177 children admitted to oncology, cardiology, or pediatric intensive care completed the PAT and measures of acute stress, trait anxiety, family functioning, and quality of life, a mean 3.7 weeks following diagnosis. A modified PAT was used for families of infants, rendering two forms, PAT (<2) and PAT (2+).
  
  
  
  Psychometrics for PAT (<2) and PAT (2+) were acceptable. PAT Total and Subscale scores for each version were significantly correlated with validation measures. Internal consistency for PAT subscales was variable. Receiver Operating Characteristics provided some support for PAT cutoffs. PAT scores across illness groups were comparable.
  
  
  
  This study provides promising support for the PAT as a psychosocial screener for families of infants and older children across illness conditions.
authors.affiliation: Children's Cancer Centre, Royal Children's Hospital Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute maria.mccarthy@rch.org.au.
authors.forename: Maria C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: McCarthy
authors.affiliation: Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute.
authors.forename: Stephen J C
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hearps
authors.affiliation: Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute Psychology Service, Royal Children's Hospital Department of Paediatrics, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Muscara
authors.affiliation: Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute Psychology Service, Royal Children's Hospital Department of Paediatrics, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne.
authors.forename: Vicki A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: Parenting and Family Support Centre, School of Psychology, University of Queensland.
authors.forename: Kylie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.affiliation: Clinical Sciences, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute.
authors.forename: Simone J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hearps
authors.affiliation: Nemours Center for Healthcare Delivery Science, Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children.
authors.forename: Anne E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Kazak
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016638:Critical Illness / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology
keywords: Psychosocial Assessment Tool; childhood illness; infants; pediatrics; psychosocial screening.