The Preliminary Development and Validation of a Trauma-Related Safety-Seeking Behavior Measure for Youth: The Child Safety Behavior Scale (CSBS).
J Trauma Stress
; 31(5): 643-653, 2018 10.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30338580
ABSTRACT
Safety-seeking behaviors (SSBs) may be employed after exposure to a traumatic event in an effort to prevent a feared outcome. Cognitive models of posttraumatic stress disorder propose SSBs contribute to maintaining this disorder by preventing disconfirmation of maladaptive beliefs and preserving a sense of current threat. Recent research has found that SSBs impact children's posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and recovery. In this paper, we sought to develop and validate a novel 22-item Child Safety Behavior Scale (CSBS) in a school-based sample of 391 pupils (age 12-15 years) who completed a battery of questionnaires as well as 68 youths (age 8-17 years) who were recently exposed to a trauma. Of the sample, 93.1% (N = 426) completed the new questionnaire. The sample was split (n = 213), and we utilized principal components analysis alongside parallel analysis, which revealed that 13 items loaded well onto a two-factor structure. This structure was superior to a one-factor model and overall demonstrated a moderately good model of fit across indices, based upon a confirmatory factory analysis with the other half of the sample. The CSBS showed excellent internal consistency, r = .90; good test-retest reliability, r = .64; and good discriminant validity and specificity. In a multiple linear regression, SSBs, negative appraisals, and number of trauma types each accounted for unique variance in a model of PTSS. This study provides initial support for the use of the CSBS in trauma-exposed youth as a valuable tool for further research, clinical assessment, and targeted intervention.
Full text:
1
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Anxiety
/
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
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Child Behavior
/
Surveys and Questionnaires
/
Depression
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
/
Qualitative_research
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Child
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
En
Year:
2018
Type:
Article