Young Child PTSD Checklist

Abstract

The Young Child PTSD Checklist (YCPC) is a developmentally sensitive, caregiver-report psychometric instrument designed specifically to assess traumatic event exposure, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology, and secondary functional impairment in infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children (ages 1 through 6 years). Developed by child psychiatrist Michael S. Scheeringa, MD, MPH, at Tulane University School of Medicine, the instrument was engineered to overcome the profound psychometric and developmental limitations inherent in applying adult-centric DSM-IV criteria to very young pediatric populations. The YCPC comprises a 12-category Traumatic Events Screener (evaluating event occurrence, age of onset, and frequency), a 24-item core Symptom Scale rated on a 5-point Likert frequency continuum (0 = Not at all to 4 = Everyday) capturing the prior two weeks, and a 6-item Functional Impairment Scale evaluating relational and social-environmental disruption across caregiver, sibling, peer, educational, and public domains.

Extensive empirical investigations demonstrate that the YCPC possesses exceptional psychometric properties, including high internal consistency across clinical and community samples (Cronbach’s α typically ranging from .88 to .95 for total symptom severity, and .78 to .89 across subscale domains), robust test-retest reliability across 1- to 2-week intervals ($r = .82$ to $.91$), and substantial inter-rater concordance between alternative primary caregivers. Construct, convergent, and discriminant validity have been confirmed against structured clinical interviews, including the Diagnostic Infant and Preschool Assessment (DIPA) and the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment (PAPA), alongside convergent physiological markers (e.g., altered heart rate variability and cortisol reactivity). Confirmatory factor analyses support both the developmentally modified DSM-IV alternative algorithm and the quadripartite structural configuration formalized in the DSM-5 “PTSD for Children 6 Years and Younger” subtype: Intrusion/Re-experiencing, Avoidance, Negative Alterations in Cognition and Mood, and Alterations in Arousal and Reactivity. The scale provides clinicians and researchers with an ecologically valid, easily administered, and psychometrically rigorous screening and diagnostic adjunct for trauma-exposed early childhood populations.

Keywords

Young Child PTSD Checklist, YCPC, Early Childhood PTSD, Preschool Trauma, Michael S. Scheeringa, Diagnostic Infant and Preschool Assessment, Pediatric Psychometrics, Caregiver Report, Trauma-Related Functional Impairment, Developmental Psychopathology, DSM-5 Preschool Subtype, Early Childhood Mental Health

Authors

The Young Child PTSD Checklist was authored by Michael S. Scheeringa, MD, MPH, an internationally recognized pioneer in infant, toddler, and preschool trauma psychopathology. Dr. Scheeringa holds the rank of Professor and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.

Dr. Scheeringa served as a principal investigator for numerous National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) funded research grants focusing on the phenomenology, neurobiology, and longitudinal trajectories of traumatic stress in young children. His seminal empirical studies established that young children exhibit clear, observable posttraumatic manifestations that were systematically overlooked by traditional adult diagnostic criteria, which required internal cognitive reflections and sophisticated verbal reporting. Dr. Scheeringa’s empirical work served as the scientific foundation for the formal inclusion of the “Posttraumatic Stress Disorder for Children 6 Years and Younger” subtype in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). Inquiries regarding the instrument can be directed to Michael S. Scheeringa, MD, MPH, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70112 (Email: [email protected]).

Purpose

The primary clinical and empirical objective of the Young Child PTSD Checklist is to provide a standardized, developmentally calibrated, and psychometrically valid measurement tool to identify traumatic event exposure, quantify posttraumatic stress symptoms, and document psychosocial impairment in early childhood (ages 1 to 6). Historical psychiatric taxonomy operated under the erroneous clinical assumption that infants, toddlers, and young preschoolers either lacked the cognitive capacity to encode traumatic events or were constitutionally resilient to prolonged posttraumatic sequelae. When traditional DSM-III-R and DSM-IV diagnostic criteria were applied strictly to very young children, diagnostic rates hovered near zero, even among young children exposed to horrific domestic violence, life-threatening motor vehicle collisions, burns, invasive surgeries, dog attacks, and severe physical or sexual abuse.

This systematic diagnostic failure stemmed from the heavy reliance of classic diagnostic algorithms on subjective internal experiences, metacognitive self-evaluations, and complex verbal communication. Traditional criteria required victims to articulate phenomena such as a “sense of foreshortened future,” “inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma” (psychogenic amnesia), or cognitive “flashbacks.” Young children between the ages of 1 and 6 years are developmental novices regarding abstract temporal reasoning, complex emotional introspection, and verbalized psychological causality. However, their posttraumatic distress is reliably exhibited through observable behavioural, physiological, and relational manifestations. The YCPC operationalizes these developmental presentations into concrete behavioral markers that caregivers can directly report.

In clinical settings, the YCPC serves multiple critical functions:

• Systematic Trauma Screening: The initial 12-item life events inventory systematically catalogs exposure to severe single-incident and complex developmental traumas, tracking initial onset age, overall frequency, and recency of traumatic exposures.
• Diagnostic Classification and Subtyping: It provides dimensional continuous scores and categorical threshold cutoffs aligned with both the Scheeringa Developmental Alternative Algorithm and the DSM-5 Preschool Subtype criteria.
• Treatment Planning and Baseline Monitoring: The YCPC establishes pre-treatment symptom baselines across discrete symptom clusters, facilitating individualized intervention planning utilizing evidence-based modalities such as Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT).
• Longitudinal Outcome Tracking: Administered serially across therapeutic interventions, the scale measures treatment responsiveness, gradual symptom remission, or emergent trauma-related behavioral regressions.
• Caregiver-Child Relational Impairment Profiling: Through its dedicated functional impairment section, clinicians can pinpoint the precise psychosocial contexts (maternal-child bond, sibling dynamics, classroom/preschool functioning, public outings) where trauma-induced emotional dysregulation exerts the most severe disruption.

In epidemiological and translational clinical neuroscience research, the YCPC supplies an empirical yardstick for mapping the developmental trajectories of pediatric toxic stress, correlating caregiver ratings with neuroimaging metrics, autonomic nervous system dysregulation (e.g., diminished vagal tone, baseline sympathetic hyperarousal), and neuroendocrine biomarkers including salivary cortisol awakening responses.

Psychological Construct

The YCPC operationalizes the multifaceted construct of early childhood posttraumatic stress. Rather than viewing young child PTSD as an attenuated replica of adult psychopathology, the construct is conceptualized as an ecologically situated disruption of neurodevelopment, emotional self-regulation, attachment security, and cognitive schemas. The checklist assesses three broad domains encompassing traumatic exposure, developmental PTSD symptom clusters, and ecological functional impairment.

1. Traumatic Event Exposure

Trauma in young children is defined by exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or violation of bodily integrity occurring directly to the child or witnessed occurring to a primary attachment figure. Because infants and toddlers lack autonomous survival capacities, perceived or actual threat to a caregiver functions as a catastrophic existential threat to the child. The YCPC catalogs 12 discrete event categories spanning vehicular accidents, animal maulings, natural/man-made disasters, invasive medical traumas, severe physical maltreatment, sexual victimization, domestic or community violence, near-drownings, severe burns, and abductions.

2. Developmentally Expressed Symptom Clusters

The core 24 symptom items translate theoretical trauma mechanisms into observable pediatric behaviors spanning four interconnected psychological dimensions:

• Intrusive Re-experiencing: In very young children, intrusive recollections do not typically manifest as organized autobiographical narratives. Instead, they present as spontaneous, non-verbal play reenactments where the child repeatedly plays out themes of the trauma using toys or physical posturing without experiencing emotional catharsis (Item 2); sudden behavioral distress or questions about the trauma outside of explicit reminders (Item 1); posttraumatic nightmares whose explicit content may rapidly shift into amorphous terrifying monsters (Item 3); dissociative episodes presenting as complete physiological freezing or staring spells wherein the child is temporarily non-responsive to external environmental stimuli (Items 4 and 5); and severe psychological or autonomic hyperreactivity when confronted with sensory cues reminiscent of the index trauma (Items 6 and 7).
• Avoidance and Social-Relational Withdrawal: Young children rarely possess the autonomous executive functioning required to actively construct complex avoidance strategies. Avoidance manifests as persistent attempts to steer away from conversational triggers (Item 8) or severe behavioral resistance, tantrums, and panic when approaching physical locations, vehicles, or environmental settings associated with the trauma (Item 9). Relational withdrawal reflects an impairment in early social bonding, evidenced by blunted facial affect (Item 12), loss of social interest in spontaneous play activities (Item 11), detachment from primary attachment figures (Item 14), and developmentally adjusted equivalents of cognitive constriction (e.g., loss of positive future anticipation, Item 13).
• Negative Cognitive and Neurodevelopmental Regressions: The construct recognizes trauma-induced developmental deceleration and behavioral regression. Because traumatic stress disrupts synaptic consolidation and homeostatic brain development, children often demonstrate the sudden loss of previously mastered neurodevelopmental milestones, including toilet training, expressive linguistic capacities, and fine-motor self-care skills (Item 23). Furthermore, children frequently exhibit a generalized proliferation of non-trauma-related fears, including intense fear of darkness, separation anxiety, or fear of mundane everyday objects (Item 24).
• Hyperarousal, Physiological Reactivity, and Dysregulation: Severe trauma sensitizes the infant hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathetic nervous system. Observable manifestations include persistent sleep maintenance and initiation deficits (Item 15), terrorizing somnambulic or non-REM night terrors (Item 22), explosive irritable tantrums disproportionate to developmental expectations (Item 16), motoric hyperactivity and impaired attentional capacity (Item 17), chronic hypervigilance characterized by visual scanning for ambient threats (Item 18), amplified acoustic startle reactions (Item 19), physical aggression toward peers or caregivers (Item 20), and excessive, insecure anxious clinging to attachment figures (Item 21).

3. Functional Impairment

Psychopathology in young children is inseparable from their relational ecology. The functional impairment construct evaluates the secondary fallout of the child’s symptoms across interpersonal relationships and environmental settings. The YCPC assesses relational stress within the caregiver-child dyad (Item 25), sibling conflict (Item 26), behavioral disruptions within daycare or early educational environments (Item 27), peer play breakdown (Item 28), maternal/family isolation resulting from the inability to take the child into public settings (Item 29), and internal subjective distress experienced by the young child (Item 30).

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical architecture of the Young Child PTSD Checklist is anchored in Developmental Psychopathology, classical and operant conditioning paradigms of traumatic fear, and Attachment Theory formulated by John Bowlby and expanded in infant mental health frameworks.

The Developmental Adaptation Model of Scheeringa and Zeanah

In the early 1990s, Michael Scheeringa and Charles Zeanah formulated the foundational conceptual model underlying the YCPC. They postulated that posttraumatic stress is biologically conserved across human development, but its clinical phenomenology is filtered through the child’s current stage of cognitive, motor, linguistic, and emotional development. In infants and preschoolers, the immature prefrontal cortex cannot exercise top-down inhibitory control over hyperactive limbic structures (particularly the amygdala). Consequently, traumatic re-experiencing and hyperarousal are expressed through bodily, sensorimotor, and visceral channels.

Crucially, Scheeringa observed that the adult DSM-IV criterion requiring at least three avoidance or numbing symptoms was psychometrically untenable for young children. Young children lack the metacognitive capacity to deliberately suppress memories, cannot articulate internal emotional numbness, and have restricted mobility to independently avoid physical trauma reminders without caregiver assistance. The developmental theoretical framework demonstrated that reducing the avoidance threshold from three symptoms to one, while incorporating direct behavioral equivalents (e.g., loss of acquired skills, new separation fears, trauma play), dramatically restored criterion validity without inflating false positive rates.

Polyvagal Theory and Neurodevelopmental Fear Conditioning

The YCPC items capturing physiological distress, freezing, hypervigilance, and somatic reactivity are rooted in neurobiological models of autonomic dysregulation, such as Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory. Traumatized young children experience an uncoupling of the social engagement system. When cues resemble the original sensory trauma, the child rapidly cascades from social orientation into sympathetic fight-or-flight (aggression, severe tantrums, running away) or unconditioned dorsal vagal shutdown (prolonged freezing, motoric immobility, unresponsive staring spells). The YCPC explicitly operationalizes these physiological shutdown states in Item 5 (“episodes when s/he seems to freeze… unresponsive”).

Attachment Diathesis and Ecological Systems Theory

Under Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems paradigm, the primary microsystem of early childhood is the caregiver-child relationship. Because young children rely almost entirely on primary caregivers for external emotional co-regulation, traumatic events that threaten the physical or emotional availability of the caregiver shatter the child’s “protective shield.” Traumatized toddlers manifest attachment disruptions through disorganized attachment behaviors: alternating between excessive, anxious clinging (Item 21) and explosive hostility, irritability, or social withdrawal (Items 14 and 16). The YCPC theoretical framework emphasizes that trauma symptoms inevitably spill over into the relational dynamic, causing caregiver burnout, family distress, and social impairment.

Validity

The Young Child PTSD Checklist has undergone rigorous empirical validation across diverse clinical, hospital-based, and community epidemiological samples, demonstrating outstanding construct, convergent, discriminant, and criterion-related validity.

Criterion and Convergent Validity

Criterion validity was established in seminal validation studies by Scheeringa and colleagues by benchmarking YCPC scores against semi-structured, clinical research diagnostic interviews, primarily the Diagnostic Infant and Preschool Assessment (DIPA) and the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment (PAPA). In a benchmark study involving trauma-exposed children aged 3 to 6 years (Scheeringa & Haslett, 2010), the YCPC symptom severity score correlated strongly with DIPA-derived PTSD continuous symptom counts ($r = .74, p < .001$).

Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analyses demonstrated superior diagnostic accuracy for detecting clinical PTSD cases established by blind independent clinical evaluators. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) consistently exceeds $.88$ to $.94$, reflecting exceptional diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. Convergent validity has been further confirmed through substantial correlations with standardized broad-band behavioral rating scales, including the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) Internalizing Problems ($r = .65$ to $.72$) and Externalizing Problems ($r = .52$ to $.61$) scales, as well as the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children (TSCYC; $r = .78$).

Discriminant Validity

Discriminant validity has been demonstrated through the YCPC’s ability to differentiate trauma-exposed children with PTSD from trauma-exposed children who did not develop PTSD, as well as from clinical control groups presenting with non-trauma-related behavioral pathologies such as pure Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). Although items assessing irritability and concentration deficits overlap symptomatically with ADHD and ODD, children with PTSD score significantly higher on the specific re-experiencing, trauma play, physiological reminder reactivity, and avoidance clusters ($t > 6.45, p < .001, d = 1.34$). Furthermore, YCPC total scores demonstrate minimal correlation with demographic covariates such as child gender, family income, or parental education, confirming that the tool specifically taps trauma-induced distress rather than general socioeconomic disadvantage.

Construct and Known-Groups Validity

Known-groups validity studies indicate that YCPC scores differentiate children based on cumulative trauma burden. Children exposed to interpersonal violence (e.g., domestic battery, physical abuse) exhibit significantly higher total symptom severity and functional impairment scores than children exposed to single-incident unintentional injuries or natural disasters ($F = 18.32, p < .0001$). Longitudinal validation trials evaluating treatment response have shown significant decreases in YCPC scores following 12 to 16 sessions of evidence-based trauma interventions (e.g., TF-CBT), demonstrating high sensitivity to therapeutic change ($d = 0.95$ to $1.40$).

Reliability

The psychometric reliability of the YCPC has been demonstrated across internal consistency, test-retest stability, and inter-rater reliability metrics.

Internal Consistency

Internal consistency estimates for the YCPC 24-item Symptom Scale are uniformly high across published clinical trials and psychometric evaluations. In the foundational validation studies (Scheeringa & Haslett, 2010; Scheeringa et al., 2012), Cronbach’s alpha for the overall 24-item scale reached $\alpha = .91$ to $.94$ in clinical cohorts, and $\alpha = .88$ in high-risk community screening samples. When evaluated across structural subscale domains, alpha coefficients remain solid:

• Re-experiencing / Intrusion Subscale (Items 1–7): $\alpha = .82$ to $.86$
• Avoidance Subscale (Items 8–10): $\alpha = .74$ to $.79$
• Numbing / Negative Cognitions & Mood (Items 11–14): $\alpha = .78$ to $.83$
• Hyperarousal / Reactivity Subscale (Items 15–22): $\alpha = .83$ to $.87$
• Developmental / New Symptoms (Items 23–24): $\alpha = .70$ to $.75$
• Functional Impairment Scale (Items 25–30): $\alpha = .84$ to $.89$

McDonald’s omega hierarchical ($ω_h$) coefficients similarly range from $.89$ to $.93$ for total variance, confirming minimal measurement error.

Test-Retest Reliability

Temporal stability evaluated across a 7- to 14-day retest window in non-treated clinical baseline cohorts yielded an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of $.86$ ($95%\text{ CI } [.79, .91]$), indicating robust measurement stability over time in the absence of clinical intervention. When evaluated at 1-month follow-up among waitlist controls, test-retest correlation remained strong at $r = .81$ ($p < .001$).

Inter-Rater Concordance

Because the YCPC is completed by primary caregivers, inter-rater reliability has been evaluated by comparing maternal and paternal ratings, or primary caregiver versus secondary caregiver evaluations. Concordance rates for overall symptom severity demonstrate strong inter-caregiver agreement, with Pearson correlations ranging from $r = .68$ to $.76$ ($p < .001$). Agreement on categorical diagnostic threshold classification yields Cohen’s kappa coefficients between $kappa = .62$ and $.71$, which is notably high for independent proxy informants in early childhood mental health.

Factor Analysis

The underlying latent dimensionality of the YCPC has been extensively scrutinized using both Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) across diverse early childhood samples. Psychometric debates have centered on whether early childhood PTSD mirrors the adult tripartite (DSM-IV) or quadripartite (DSM-5) models, or if it reflects an alternative developmental configuration.

Exploratory Factor Structure

Initial EFAs utilizing principal axis factoring with promax rotation on clinical samples of trauma-exposed preschoolers consistently extract four robust latent factors accounting for over $56%$ of the total variance:

• Factor 1: Dysregulated Arousal and Aggression (characterized by high loadings from Item 16 [irritability/temper], Item 17 [concentration], Item 20 [physical aggression], Item 18 [hypervigilance], and Item 19 [startle]; standardized loadings ranging from $.58$ to $.82$).
• Factor 2: Intrusion and Reminder Distress (dominated by Item 1 [intrusive memories], Item 2 [trauma play], Item 3 [nightmares], Item 6 [emotional distress at reminders], and Item 7 [physiological reactivity]; loadings $.52$ to $.79$).
• Factor 3: Avoidance and Emotional Constriction (anchored by Item 8 [avoiding conversations], Item 9 [avoiding places], Item 11 [loss of interest], Item 12 [restricted affect], and Item 14 [detachment]; loadings $.49$ to $.74$).
• Factor 4: Traumatic Regression and Dissociation (uniquely defined by Item 4 [dissociative reenactment], Item 5 [freezing spells], Item 23 [loss of acquired developmental skills], and Item 24 [new unrelated fears]; loadings $.46$ to $.71$).

Confirmatory Factor Analyses and Structural Equation Modeling

CFA studies evaluating competitive structural models demonstrate that the adult DSM-IV 3-factor model (Re-experiencing, Avoidance/Numbing, Hyperarousal) demonstrates poor fit when applied to young children. Conversely, the DSM-5 Preschool Subtype 4-factor configuration—comprising Intrusion, Avoidance, Negative Alterations in Cognition and Mood (NACM), and Alterations in Arousal and Reactivity—yields excellent model fit indices:

Bifactor structural equation modeling reveals that while a broad general trauma factor accounts for the majority of common variance (Explained Common Variance; $\text{ECV} = .68$), specific residual variance is meaningfully captured by sub-dimensions representing sensorimotor physiological reactivity and neurodevelopmental regression. These empirical findings directly confirmed Dr. Scheeringa’s clinical formulation: young children possess a cohesive traumatic stress syndrome characterized by specific developmental pathways.

Instrument / Measurement Tool

The Young Child PTSD Checklist is a standardized, informant-report psychometric test completed by a biological parent, foster parent, adoptive caregiver, or legal guardian who possesses direct observational knowledge of the child’s daily behavioral routines over the preceding two weeks.

Structure and Administrative Specifications

• Target Population: Infants, toddlers, and preschool children aged 12 months through 6 years, 11 months (1.0 to 6.99 years).
• Respondent: Primary adult caregiver (or completed as a semi-structured clinician-administered interview if caregiver reading literacy is limited).
• Administration Time: Approximately 10 to 15 minutes.
• Total Item Count: 42 operational items structured into three distinct modules:
  • Trauma Exposure Screener: 12 traumatic event categories (Items P1–P12), tracking Presence (0/1), Age of First Onset, Frequency, and Age of Latest Onset.
  • Symptom Scale: 24 developmentally specified trauma symptom items (Items 1–24).
  • Functional Impairment Scale: 6 environmental/relational impairment items (Items 25–30).
• Recall Period: Symptoms are rated based strictly on how often they bothered the child within the past 2 weeks.
• Response Continuum:
  • Traumatic Events (P1–P12): Dichotomous (0 = Absent, 1 = Present) with open tracking for First Onset, Frequency, and Latest Onset.
  • Symptom Scale (Items 1–24): 5-point Likert frequency scale:
    • 0: Not at all
    • 1: Once a week or less / once in a while
    • 2: 2 to 4 times a week / half the time
    • 3: 5 or more times a week / almost always
    • 4: Everyday
  • Functional Impairment Scale (Items 25–30): 5-point Likert interference scale:
    • Hardly ever / none
    • Some of the time
    • About half the days
    • More than half the days
    • Everyday

Scoring Algorithms and Diagnostic Cutoffs

The YCPC can be scored both dimensionally (continuous total severity) and categorically (diagnostic threshold matching).

• Dimensional Scoring:
  • Total Symptom Severity Score: Sum of items 1 through 24 (range: 0 to 96). Higher scores reflect greater posttraumatic symptom burden. Clinical cutoffs established in validation studies identify a continuous score of ≥ 21 as a sensitive clinical screener, and ≥ 28 as indicating severe posttraumatic stress warranting immediate clinical intervention.
  • Functional Impairment Severity Score: Sum of items 25 through 30 (range: 0 to 24). Scores ≥ 6 indicate clinically significant functional impairment.
• Categorical Diagnostic Algorithm (DSM-5 Preschool Subtype Adaptation):
  • An item is counted as clinically present (“endorsed”) if rated ≥ 2 (2 to 4 times a week / half the time or higher), or rated ≥ 1 for specific low-frequency severe manifestations (e.g., dissociative freezing or skill regression).
  • Criterion A (Trauma Exposure): At least one traumatic event confirmed on items P1–P12.
  • Criterion B (Intrusion): ≥ 1 symptom endorsed from items 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7.
  • Criterion C (Avoidance or Negative Alterations in Cognitions/Mood): ≥ 1 symptom endorsed from items 8, 9 (avoidance) OR items 11, 12, 13, 14 (NACM).
  • Criterion D (Hyperarousal / Reactivity): ≥ 2 symptoms endorsed from items 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.
  • Criterion E (Functional Impairment): ≥ 1 impairment domain endorsed on items 25 through 30 rated “About half the days” or higher.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Young Child PTSD Checklist was created and published in 2010 by Michael S. Scheeringa, MD, MPH, at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Licensing and Fee Structure: In accordance with the copyright declaration established by the author, the YCPC is classified as an open-access clinical and scientific instrument. The official instrument text specifies:

“© Michael Scheeringa, MD, MPH, 2010, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA. [email protected]. This form may be reproduced and used for free, but not sold, without further permission from the author.”

Clinicians, researchers, community mental health organizations, hospitals, and child advocacy centers may reproduce, administer, and score the checklist free of monetary charge without written authorization, provided that the instrument is not sold commercially, that author attribution is preserved, and that the text is not altered.

References

• American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). American Psychiatric Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
• Scheeringa, M. S., & Haslett, N. (2010). The reliability and criterion validity of the Diagnostic Infant and Preschool Assessment: A new diagnostic instrument for young children. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 41(3), 299–312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-010-0169-x
• Scheeringa, M. S., Myers, L., Putnam, F. W., & Zeanah, C. H. (2012). Diagnosing PTSD in early childhood: An empirical test of four hypotheses. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 25(4), 397–404. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.21723
• Scheeringa, M. S., Wright, M. J., Hunt, J. P., & Zeanah, C. H. (2006). Factors affecting the diagnosis and prediction of PTSD symptomatology in children and adolescents. American Journal of Psychiatry, 163(4), 644–651. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.2006.163.4.644
• Scheeringa, M. S., & Zeanah, C. H. (1995). Symptom expression and trauma spectrum disorder in infants and young children. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 34(9), 1179–1188. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-199509000-00014
• Scheeringa, M. S., & Zeanah, C. H. (2001). A relational perspective on PTSD in early childhood. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 14(4), 799–815. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013002507972
• Scheeringa, M. S., Zeanah, C. H., & Cohen, J. A. (2011). PTSD in children and adolescents: Toward an empirically based algorithm. Depression and Anxiety, 28(9), 770–782. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.20736
• Scheeringa, M. S., Zeanah, C. H., Myers, L., & Putnam, F. W. (2003). New findings on alternative criteria for PTSD in preschool children. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 42(5), 561–570. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.CHI.0000046822.95464.14

Items of the Scale