Psychometric Properties of the Traditional Chinese Version of the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths-Trauma Comprehensive

Abstract

Objective: To determine the internal consistency, construct validity, and scaling properties of the traditional Chinese version of the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths-Trauma Comprehensive (TC-CANS-Trauma). Methods: 66 male and 62 female children, adolescents, and young adults aged 3 to 22 years who were referred to trauma treatment service were selected by convenience sampling. The original English version of the CANS-Trauma was translated to traditional Chinese by a medical professional, back-translated to English by a clinical psychologist, and then cross-checked by another psychologist to ensure consistency. Chinese wordings were adjusted to maintain the conceptual rather than literal meaning. Participants were assessed using the TC-CANS-Trauma as well as the traditional Chinese version of the Life Events Checklist (LEC), the Children's Impact of Event Scale-Revised (CHIES-R), the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire-Impact Component (SDQ-Impact), and the Parenting Sense of Competence (PSOC). Internal consistency of eight primary domains of the TC-CANS-Trauma was evaluated by Cronbach's alpha. Construct (convergent and divergent) validity of five of these domains with the LEC, the CHIES- R, the SDQ-Impact, and the PSOC was assessed. Rasch modelling was used to evaluate the scaling properties of the eight primary domains of the TC-CANS-Trauma. Results: Internal consistency of the eight primary domains of the TC-CANS-Trauma was satisfactory, with Cronbach's alpha ranging from 0.63 to 0.90. Construct (convergent and divergent) validity of five of these domains with the LEC, the CHIES-R, the SDQ-Impact, and the PSOC was good. In Rasch modelling, most TC-CANS-Trauma domains showed good item separation values. Infit and outfit statistics of most domain items were <2 indicating good item fitness in their respective domains. For person separation, all domains of the TC-CANS-Trauma did not have a sufficient discriminability to identify high and low performers. Conclusions: The TC-CANS-Trauma is valid for comprehensive assessment of trauma-related domains among Hong Kong children and adolescents. Its ratings can be used to guide the levels of clinical intervention required. Clinicians are recommended to implement the TC-CANS-Trauma to facilitate trauma-informed practice in Hong Kong.