Diagnostic utility of CPSS vs. CAPS-CA for assessing posttraumatic stress symptoms in children and adolescents
Date
2014
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Anxiety Disorders
Abstract
Objectives: This study compared the diagnostic utility of the symptom part of the child PTSD symptom
scale (CPSS) screening instrument with the clinician-administered PTSD scale for children and adolescents
(CAPS-CA).
Methods: The study included a clinical sample of traumatized children and adolescents (mean age 15.1,
range 10–18) living in Norway, who were assessed for posttraumatic stress symptoms using the CPSS
and the CAPS-CA. Diagnostic utility was investigated using receiver operating characteristic analyses.
Results: The results showed that CPSS reached medium effect sizes (AUC from .63 to .76). The sensitivity
was good (.80), but the specificity was relatively low (.56). Kappa between CPSS and CAPS-CA was low
( = .27).
Conclusions: Findings suggests that CPSS is a good tool for screening purposes, but not as a diagnostic
instrument in an early phase of assessment. Implications and limitations of the findings are discussed.
Crown Copyright © 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Description
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Article
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Keywords
International Resources, Norway, PTSD, screening, trauma, CPSS, symptoms
Citation
Hukkelberg, S., Ormhaug, S. M., Holt, T., Wentzel-Larsen, T., & Jensen, T. K. (2014). Diagnostic utility of CPSS vs. CAPS-CA for assessing posttraumatic stress symptoms in children and adolescents. Journal of anxiety disorders, 28(1), 51-56.