Reliability, factor structure, and validity of the German version of the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children in a sample of adolescents

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographics of the normative and clinical adolescent samples

Demographic variables	Results
Normative sample (N=583)
Age M, SD Range	17.44, 1.98 13–21
Sex Females (n, %)	185, 31.7
History of trauma according to DSM-IV (trauma subsample) (n, %) Physical assault (n, %) Sudden death of a loved one (n, %) Severe accident (n, %) Contact with a dead body (n, %) Painful medical treatment (n, %) Sexual assault (n, %)	260, 44.6 170, 65.4 121, 46.5 97, 37.3 85, 33.6 72, 27.7 47, 18.1
Clinical sample (N=41)
Age M, SD Range	17.61, 1.97 14–21
Sex Females (n, %)	32, 78
History of trauma (n, %) Sexual abuse (n, %) Physical abuse (n, %) Further traumatization (n, %)	41, 100 33, 80.5 32, 78 22, 53.7
PTSD Diagnosis according to DSM-IV (n, %) Score (M, SD)	34, 82.9 59.66, 26.49
Comorbid disorders according to DSM-IV (M, SD)	2.56, 1.40
Affective disorders (n, %) Anxiety disorders (n, %) Substance abuse/dependency (n, %) Eating disorders (n, %) Somatoform disorders (n, %) Conduct disorder (n, %)	24, 58.54 19, 46.34 7, 17.07 5, 12.20 4, 9.76 3, 7.32

PTSD diagnosis and score were assessed using the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS; Blake et al., 2000); comorbid diagnoses were assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID-I; First, Spitzer, Gibbon, & Williams, 1997) and the Diagnostic Interview for Mental Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence (Kinder-DIPS; Schneider, Unnewehr, & Margraf, 2009).

Table 2 Fit statistics of the German version of the TSC-C by model

	χ ^2 (df)	BIC	CFI	TLI	RMSEA	SRMR
Six-factor model	2,660.78 (1,303)	60,868.04	.85	.84	.04	.06
One-factor model	4,507.46 (1,325)	63,196.42	.65	.63	.06	.08

BIC, Bayesian information criterion; CFI, comparative fit index; RMSEA, root mean square error of approximation; SRMR, standardized root mean square residual; ANG, anger; ANX, anxiety; DEP, depression; DIS, dissociation; PTS, posttraumatic stress; SC, sexual concerns. Suggestions for interpreting the index as acceptable, according to Schermelleh-Engel, Moosbrugger, and Müller (2003): χ ²/df≤3; CFI≥.95; TLI≥.95 RMSEA≤.08; SRMR≤.10.

Table 3 Factor loadings of the six-factor model of the German version of the TSC-C

TSC-C item	Factor	Factor loading (λ)
1. Bad dreams or nightmares	PTS	.46
2. Feeling afraid something bad might happened	ANX	.59
3. Scary ideas or pictures just pop into my head	PTS	.64
4. Wanting to say dirty words	SC-P	.42
5. Pretending I am someone else	DIS	.51
6. Arguing too much	ANG	.45
7. Feeling lonely	DEP	.73
8. Touching my private parts too much	SC-P	.63
9. Feeling sad or unhappy	DEP	.74
10. Remembering things that happened that I didn't like	PTS	.74
11. Going away in my mind, trying not to think	PTS	.51
12. Remembering scary things	PTS	.77
13. Wanting to yell and break things	ANG	.68
14. Crying	DEP	.52
15. Getting scared all of a sudden and don't know why	ANX	.68
16. Getting mad and can't calm down	ANG	.67
17. Thinking about having sex	SC-P	.76
18. Feeling dizzy	DIS	.42
19. Wanting to yell at people	ANG	.75
20. Wanting to hurt myself	DEP	.59
21. Wanting to hurt other people	ANG	.53
22. Thinking about touching other people's private parts	SC-P	.72
23. Thinking about sex when I don't want to	SC-P	.60
24. Feeling scared of men	ANX	.37
25. Feeling scared of women	ANX	.30
26. Washing myself because I feel dirty on the inside^a	DEP
27. Feeling stupid or bad	DEP	.72
28. Feeling like I did something wrong	DEP	.61
29. Feeling like things aren't real	DIS	.73
30. Forgetting things, can't remember things	DIS	.54
31. Feeling like I am not in my body	DIS	.67
32. Feeling nervous or jumpy inside	ANX	.66
33. Feeling afraid	ANX	.84
34. Not trusting because they might want sex	SC-D	.53
35. Can't stop thinking about something bad that happened to me	PTS	.71
36. Getting into fights	ANG	.36
37. Feeling mean	ANG	.49
38. Pretending I am somewhere else	DIS	.56
39. Being afraid of the dark	ANX	.46
40. Getting scared or upset when I think about sex	SC-D	.67
41. Worrying about things	ANX	.51
42. Feeling like nobody likes me	DEP	.66
43. Remembering things I don't want to remember	PTS	.76
44. Having sex feelings in my body	SC-P	.70
45. My mind going empty or blank	DIS	.59
46. Feeling like I hate people	ANG	.51
47. Can't stop thinking about sex	SC-P	.77
48. Trying not to have any feelings	DIS	.58
49. Feeling mad	ANG	.54
50. Feeling afraid somebody will kill me	ANX	.47
51. Wishing bad things had never happened	PTS	.64
52. Wanting to kill myself	DEP	.54
53. Daydreaming	DIS	.45
54. Getting upset when people talk about sex	SC-D	.44

ANG, anger; ANX, anxiety; DEP, depression; DIS, dissociation; PTS, posttraumatic stress; SC-D, sexual distress; SC-P, sexual preoccupation.

^aRemoved from final model based on factor loading<.30.

Table 4 Correlations between the TSC-C Clinical Scales and the total TSC-C Scale in the normative and clinical samples

	TSC-C ANG	TSC-C ANX	TSC-C DEP	TSC-C DIS	TSC-C PTS	TSC-C SC	SC-P
TSC-C ANG
TSC-C ANX	.52 (.52)^a
	.62 (.54)^b
TSC-C DEP	.57 (.56)^a	.72 (.76)^a
	.63 (.62)^b	.72 (.75)^b
TSC-C DIS	.62 (.61)^a	.68 (.69)^a	.71 (.70)^a
	67 (.70)^b	.52 (.66)^b	.77 (.77)^b
TSC-C PTS	.55 (.73)^a	.70 (.81)^a	.70 (.73)^a	.64 (.74)^a
	.46 (.57)^b	.78 (.86)^b	.63 (.73)^b	.51 (.70)^b
TSC-C SC	.39 (.37)^a	.23 (.45)^a	.24 (.41)^a	.32 (.51)^a	.30 (.51)^a
	.51 (.50)^b	.58 (.32)^b	.45 (.38)^b	.36 (.57)^b	.39 (.51)^b
SC-P	.36 (.40)^a	.14 (.32)^a	.16 (.34)^a	.25 (.44)^a	.22 (.41)^a	.97 (.92)^a
	.45 (.43)^b	.36 (.32)^b	.31 (.38)^b	.26 (.45)^b	.21 (.35)^b	.81 (.91)^b
SC-D	.24 (.19)^a	.39 (.48)^a	.35 (.37)^a	.34 (.41)^a	.35 (.47)^a	.47 (.72)^a	.22 (.40)^a
	.34 (.42)^b	.56 (.66)^b	.39 (.52)^b	.30 (.53)^b	.41 (.56)^b	.74 (.74)^b	.19 (.39)^b

ANG, anger; ANX, anxiety; DEP, depression; DIS, dissociation; PTS, posttraumatic stress; SC, sexual concerns. Pearson's correlation sign two-tailed p<.05 for all calculations.

^aCorrelation in NS [correlations in Brière's (1996) standardization sample; correlations between clinical scales and the total scale were not reported].

^bCorrelation in CS [correlations in Sadowski and Friedrich's (2000) psychiatric adolescent sample].

Table 5 Cronbach's α's for the TSC-C Subscales and the TSC-C Total Scale in the normative and clinical samples

	Normative sample
Clinical scale	13–18 years	19–21 years	Clinical sample
TSC-C ANG	.78 (.89)	.84	.79 (.87)
TSC-C ANX	.79 (.82)	.84	.84 (.83)
TSC-C DEP	.85 (.86)	.88	.87 (.85)
TSC-C DIS	.79 (.83)	.80	.80 (.80)
TSC-C PTS	.85 (.87)	.85	.86 (.85)
TSC-C SC	.81 (.77)	.79	.74 (.67)
SC-P	.84 (.81)	.83	.72
SC-D	.45 (.64)	.68	.86
TSC-C total scale	.94		.94
UND	.82 (.85)	.85	.85
HYP	.61 (.66)	.70	.61

The results from Brière's (1996) study (N=3,008) are displayed in parentheses in the second column; the results from the study conducted in a child abuse center (Elliott & Brière, 1994; N=399) are shown in parentheses in the third column.

ANG, anger; ANX, anxiety; DEP, depression; DIS, dissociation; PTS, posttraumatic stress; SC, sexual concerns; UND, validity scale under-response; HYP, validity scale hyper-response.

Table 6 MANCOVA for the TSC-C differences between the normative and the clinical samples, with age and gender as covariates

	NS1		NS2		CS		Group
Clinical scale	M	SD	M	SD	M	SD	F	df	NS2-NS1 d	CS-NS1 d	CS-NS2 d
TSC-C ANG	5.14	3.93	7.69	4.66	7.95	4.81	20.69***	2	NS2>NS1*** .60	CS>NS1*** .70	CS>NS2 ns
TSC-C ANX	3.57	3.36	5.77	4.10	11.33	5.74	53.20***	2	NS2>NS1*** .59	CS>NS1*** 2.10	CS>NS2*** 1.28
TSC-C DEP	3.84	3.71	6.14	4.61	11.19	5.87	38.72***	2	NS2>NS1*** .56	CS>NS1*** 1.84	CS>NS2*** 1.05
TSC-C DIS	4.18	3.86	6.49	4.38	7.83	5.38	15.66***	2	NS2>NS1*** .56	CS>NS1*** .90	CS>NS2 ns
TSC-C PTS	4.52	3.73	8.50	4.97	14.61	5.44	92.62***	2	NS2>NS1*** .92	CS>NS1*** 2.55	CS>NS2*** 1.21
TSC-C SC	5.01	4.18	6.61	5.04	5.73	4.59	7.81***	2	NS2>NS1** .35	CS>NS1 ns	CS<NS2 ns
SC-P	4.51	3.87	5.72	4.50	3.60	3.17	5.99**	2	NS2>NS1** .30	CS<NS1 ns	CS<NS2** .49
SC-D	.50	1.04	.89	1.45	2.16	2.77	19.43***	2	NS2>NS1*** .32	CS>NS1*** 1.23	CS>NS2* .75

NS1, non-trauma subsample of the normative sample; NS2, trauma subsample of the normative sample; CS, clinical sample; M, mean value; SD, standard deviation; d, Cohen's d; ANG, anger; ANX, anxiety; DEP, depression; DIS, dissociation; PTS, posttraumatic stress; SC, sexual concerns. *p<.01; ***p<.001; ns, not significant.

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