Brief Description
The Child and Adolescent Trauma Screen - Youth Report (CATS-Youth) is a measure of potentially traumatic events and of post traumatic stress symptoms in children and adolescents based on the DSM-5 criteria for PTSD. It is used as a screener, followed up by the CATS-Progress. Respondents rate if they have experienced various traumatic events on a “Yes/No” scale and if so, how often they experience the post traumatic stress symptoms listed (e.g., “Bad dreams reminding you of what happened”) on a scale from “Never” to “Almost always”.
Assessment Administration Type
Self-report
Number of questions
40
Age Range for Administration
7-17
Recommended Frequency of Administration
Screener
Summary of Scoring and Interpretations
The CATS-Youth contains 40 questions and assesses 3 categories: traumatic events, symptoms related to events in past 2 weeks, and whether these symptoms interfered with the respondent’s life (see Subscales table below). A total score is calculated by summing the item responses in the Symptoms subscale (Items 16-35) and ranges from 0 to 60; higher scores are associated with higher levels of, or more severe, traumatic experiences and post traumatic stress symptoms. Scores of 15-20 are suggestive of moderate trauma-related distress and scores 21 or over are considered clinically significant and indicate probable PTSD (see Score Interpretations table below).
Subscales
Subscale | Items | Scoring |
Traumatic events | 1-15 | 0-1 (No/Yes), max score of 15 |
(Symptoms) Bothered You Past 2 Weeks | 16-35 | 0-3 (Never-Almost always), max score of 60 |
Interfered With Life | 36-40 | 0-1 (No/Yes), max score of 5 |
Score Interpretations
Total Score (from Symptoms subscale) | Interpretation |
<15 | Not clinically elevated |
15-20 | Moderate trauma-related distress |
21+ | Clinically significant, probable PTSD |
Blueprint Adjustments
Blueprint’s CATS-Youth has 40 questions, while the original measure has sections of 15 items, 20 items, and 5 items. Blueprint presents all of the original measure’s items from 1-40, instead of splitting them up into 3 sections. Thus, wording of the questions were also slightly formatted to provide appropriate instructions for each section. The total score displayed in Blueprint is the Symptoms subscale total score, ranging from 0-60.
Clinical Considerations
Estimated completion time: 10-15 minutes
The CATS does not replace a thorough clinical assessment; it is constructed as a screening instrument with emphasis on sensitivity. Children and adolescents with positive results on the CATS should be diagnosed using a semi-structured or structured clinical interview.
In addition to youth self-report, there are caregiver reports for ages 3-6 and 7-17. There are also CATS-Progress assessments, which are briefer and used to track symptoms over the course of treatment.
Citation
Relevant Articles + Further Resources
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