Preliminary Cross-Sectional Validation of the CROPS 14-Item for Juvenile Offenders

Abstract

The Child Report of Posttraumatic Symptoms (CROPS) is an effective 26-item trauma assessment tool. Research has indicated a 14-item version of the CROPS for juvenile offenders with improved predictive accuracy for detecting trauma exposure among male offenders and commensurate accuracy for female offenders. However, the 14-item scale has yet to be validated for juvenile offenders with an established trauma measure. Cross-sectional retrospective data of 74 adjudicated youth (59.5% male) from the original CROPS 14-item psychometric study sample were used to examine the factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent and divergent validity of the 14-item scale. Findings indicated strong internal consistency and significant correlations with all scales of an established and more extensive trauma measure for children and adolescents. Findings also revealed a CROPS 12-item model explaining 36.9% of variance. Results supported both convergent and divergent validity, suggesting both the CROPS 14-item and 12-item may be used as valid trauma symptom screeners for juvenile offenders.

What Measures are Effective in Trauma Screening for Young Males in Custody? A COSMIN Systematic Review

“…Conflicting results were rated for three measures: the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC), the Child Report of Posttraumatic Symptoms (CROPS), and the MMPI-A. The CROPS had different methodological ratings across studies, with some reporting an EFA along with acceptable Cronbach values in two studies by Edner et al (2017) and Edner, Glaser et al (2020) , Edner, Piegore et al (2020) , and a combination of good alpha values, but a lack of factor analysis in another study ( Flaherty, 2017 ). Similarly, the MMPI-A was reported by Cashel et al (2000) to have a good Cronbach alpha for the PK subscale, but no available factor analysis and Murray et al (2013) also reported no factor analysis.…”