The Pediatric Symptom Checklist

Trauma-informed care for the pediatric nurse

“…As the importance of trauma screens is recognized in both medical and mental health treatment, experts and researchers look to create screens that capture the necessary information, have the potential to guide as referral to treatment moving forward, and do not re-traumatize the patient in the process ( American Academy of Pediatrics, 2019 , American Academy of Pediatrics, 2014 ; Bright Futures and American Academy of Pediatrics, 2020 ; Zima et al, 2013 ). Some screens currently being utilized in pediatric care settings, such as School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) and outpatient pediatric and mental health settings, in which the pediatric nurse serves as the first line screening provider, are the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (ACE-Q), the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC), and the Child Trauma Screen (CTS) ( Bryant & Van Graafeiland, 2019 ; Glowa et al, 2016 ; Jellinek, 2020 ; Lang et al, 2021 ; Zarse et al, 2019 ). While these screens are neither diagnostic nor constitute a full assessment of trauma, they serve as a starting point to determine which patients may benefit from follow-up care and a referral for mental health treatment.…”

“…The Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) is a psychosocial screener used to identify emotional and behavioral concerns for youth between 4 and 16 years of age, often implemented in the outpatient setting ( Jellinek, 2020 ; Jellinek et al, 1988 ). There is a long version (35 items), a short version (17 items), a youth self-report (ages 11 and up) version, and a pictural version of the PSC, making operationalizing this screen developmentally savvy across pediatric growth surveillance.…”

“…There is a long version (35 items), a short version (17 items), a youth self-report (ages 11 and up) version, and a pictural version of the PSC, making operationalizing this screen developmentally savvy across pediatric growth surveillance. The PSC has been endorsed by the AAP and the National Quality Forum, both for comprehensive screening and screening adolescents for depression using its internalizing scale ( Jellinek, 2020 ). With good validity and reliability of the scales demonstrated across multiple pediatric populations, test re-test reliability ranges from r = 0.84 to r = 0.91 ( Jellinek et al, 1988 ; Murphy et al, 1992 ).…”

“…Patients, especially patients new to their provider, may also prefer and feel safer with a de-identified screen, as it does not require them to provide the details of their trauma to the provider ( ACEs Aware, 2020 ). The pediatric nurse implementing trauma screens of any kind should be trained in trauma awareness, and screening, including managing disclosures and suspected child abuse and neglect mandated reporting ( AAP, 2019 ; Jellinek, 2020 ; Lang et al, 2021 ; Lang & Connell, 2017 ).…”

Trauma-informed care for the pediatric nurse

“…As the importance of trauma screens is recognized in both medical and mental health treatment, experts and researchers look to create screens that capture the necessary information, have the potential to guide as referral to treatment moving forward, and do not re-traumatize the patient in the process ( American Academy of Pediatrics, 2019 , American Academy of Pediatrics, 2014 ; Bright Futures and American Academy of Pediatrics, 2020 ; Zima et al, 2013 ). Some screens currently being utilized in pediatric care settings, such as School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) and outpatient pediatric and mental health settings, in which the pediatric nurse serves as the first line screening provider, are the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (ACE-Q), the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC), and the Child Trauma Screen (CTS) ( Bryant & Van Graafeiland, 2019 ; Glowa et al, 2016 ; Jellinek, 2020 ; Lang et al, 2021 ; Zarse et al, 2019 ). While these screens are neither diagnostic nor constitute a full assessment of trauma, they serve as a starting point to determine which patients may benefit from follow-up care and a referral for mental health treatment.…”

“…The Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) is a psychosocial screener used to identify emotional and behavioral concerns for youth between 4 and 16 years of age, often implemented in the outpatient setting ( Jellinek, 2020 ; Jellinek et al, 1988 ). There is a long version (35 items), a short version (17 items), a youth self-report (ages 11 and up) version, and a pictural version of the PSC, making operationalizing this screen developmentally savvy across pediatric growth surveillance.…”

“…There is a long version (35 items), a short version (17 items), a youth self-report (ages 11 and up) version, and a pictural version of the PSC, making operationalizing this screen developmentally savvy across pediatric growth surveillance. The PSC has been endorsed by the AAP and the National Quality Forum, both for comprehensive screening and screening adolescents for depression using its internalizing scale ( Jellinek, 2020 ). With good validity and reliability of the scales demonstrated across multiple pediatric populations, test re-test reliability ranges from r = 0.84 to r = 0.91 ( Jellinek et al, 1988 ; Murphy et al, 1992 ).…”

“…Patients, especially patients new to their provider, may also prefer and feel safer with a de-identified screen, as it does not require them to provide the details of their trauma to the provider ( ACEs Aware, 2020 ). The pediatric nurse implementing trauma screens of any kind should be trained in trauma awareness, and screening, including managing disclosures and suspected child abuse and neglect mandated reporting ( AAP, 2019 ; Jellinek, 2020 ; Lang et al, 2021 ; Lang & Connell, 2017 ).…”

Be My Safe Haven: Parent–Child Relationships and Emotional Health During COVID-19

“…Subscales assess internalizing (e.g., “is down on his/herself”), externalizing (e.g., “irritable, angry”), and attention-related symptoms (e.g., “fidgety, unable to sit still”). The PSC shows convergence with informant ratings ( Jellinek et al, 1995 ) and criterion and predictive validity ( Jutte et al, 2003 ). Internal consistency was good, α internalizing = .80, α externalizing = .84, α inattention = .82, α total = .92.…”

Trauma-informed care for the pediatric nurse

“…As the importance of trauma screens is recognized in both medical and mental health treatment, experts and researchers look to create screens that capture the necessary information, have the potential to guide as referral to treatment moving forward, and do not re-traumatize the patient in the process ( American Academy of Pediatrics, 2019 , American Academy of Pediatrics, 2014 ; Bright Futures and American Academy of Pediatrics, 2020 ; Zima et al, 2013 ). Some screens currently being utilized in pediatric care settings, such as School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) and outpatient pediatric and mental health settings, in which the pediatric nurse serves as the first line screening provider, are the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (ACE-Q), the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC), and the Child Trauma Screen (CTS) ( Bryant & Van Graafeiland, 2019 ; Glowa et al, 2016 ; Jellinek, 2020 ; Lang et al, 2021 ; Zarse et al, 2019 ). While these screens are neither diagnostic nor constitute a full assessment of trauma, they serve as a starting point to determine which patients may benefit from follow-up care and a referral for mental health treatment.…”

“…The Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) is a psychosocial screener used to identify emotional and behavioral concerns for youth between 4 and 16 years of age, often implemented in the outpatient setting ( Jellinek, 2020 ; Jellinek et al, 1988 ). There is a long version (35 items), a short version (17 items), a youth self-report (ages 11 and up) version, and a pictural version of the PSC, making operationalizing this screen developmentally savvy across pediatric growth surveillance.…”

“…There is a long version (35 items), a short version (17 items), a youth self-report (ages 11 and up) version, and a pictural version of the PSC, making operationalizing this screen developmentally savvy across pediatric growth surveillance. The PSC has been endorsed by the AAP and the National Quality Forum, both for comprehensive screening and screening adolescents for depression using its internalizing scale ( Jellinek, 2020 ). With good validity and reliability of the scales demonstrated across multiple pediatric populations, test re-test reliability ranges from r = 0.84 to r = 0.91 ( Jellinek et al, 1988 ; Murphy et al, 1992 ).…”

“…Patients, especially patients new to their provider, may also prefer and feel safer with a de-identified screen, as it does not require them to provide the details of their trauma to the provider ( ACEs Aware, 2020 ). The pediatric nurse implementing trauma screens of any kind should be trained in trauma awareness, and screening, including managing disclosures and suspected child abuse and neglect mandated reporting ( AAP, 2019 ; Jellinek, 2020 ; Lang et al, 2021 ; Lang & Connell, 2017 ).…”

Be My Safe Haven: Parent–Child Relationships and Emotional Health During COVID-19

“…Subscales assess internalizing (e.g., “is down on his/herself”), externalizing (e.g., “irritable, angry”), and attention-related symptoms (e.g., “fidgety, unable to sit still”). The PSC shows convergence with informant ratings ( Jellinek et al, 1995 ) and criterion and predictive validity ( Jutte et al, 2003 ). Internal consistency was good, α internalizing = .80, α externalizing = .84, α inattention = .82, α total = .92.…”

Trauma-informed care for the pediatric nurse

“…As the importance of trauma screens is recognized in both medical and mental health treatment, experts and researchers look to create screens that capture the necessary information, have the potential to guide as referral to treatment moving forward, and do not re-traumatize the patient in the process ( American Academy of Pediatrics, 2019 , American Academy of Pediatrics, 2014 ; Bright Futures and American Academy of Pediatrics, 2020 ; Zima et al, 2013 ). Some screens currently being utilized in pediatric care settings, such as School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) and outpatient pediatric and mental health settings, in which the pediatric nurse serves as the first line screening provider, are the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (ACE-Q), the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC), and the Child Trauma Screen (CTS) ( Bryant & Van Graafeiland, 2019 ; Glowa et al, 2016 ; Jellinek, 2020 ; Lang et al, 2021 ; Zarse et al, 2019 ). While these screens are neither diagnostic nor constitute a full assessment of trauma, they serve as a starting point to determine which patients may benefit from follow-up care and a referral for mental health treatment.…”

“…The Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) is a psychosocial screener used to identify emotional and behavioral concerns for youth between 4 and 16 years of age, often implemented in the outpatient setting ( Jellinek, 2020 ; Jellinek et al, 1988 ). There is a long version (35 items), a short version (17 items), a youth self-report (ages 11 and up) version, and a pictural version of the PSC, making operationalizing this screen developmentally savvy across pediatric growth surveillance.…”

“…There is a long version (35 items), a short version (17 items), a youth self-report (ages 11 and up) version, and a pictural version of the PSC, making operationalizing this screen developmentally savvy across pediatric growth surveillance. The PSC has been endorsed by the AAP and the National Quality Forum, both for comprehensive screening and screening adolescents for depression using its internalizing scale ( Jellinek, 2020 ). With good validity and reliability of the scales demonstrated across multiple pediatric populations, test re-test reliability ranges from r = 0.84 to r = 0.91 ( Jellinek et al, 1988 ; Murphy et al, 1992 ).…”

“…Patients, especially patients new to their provider, may also prefer and feel safer with a de-identified screen, as it does not require them to provide the details of their trauma to the provider ( ACEs Aware, 2020 ). The pediatric nurse implementing trauma screens of any kind should be trained in trauma awareness, and screening, including managing disclosures and suspected child abuse and neglect mandated reporting ( AAP, 2019 ; Jellinek, 2020 ; Lang et al, 2021 ; Lang & Connell, 2017 ).…”

Be My Safe Haven: Parent–Child Relationships and Emotional Health During COVID-19

“…Subscales assess internalizing (e.g., “is down on his/herself”), externalizing (e.g., “irritable, angry”), and attention-related symptoms (e.g., “fidgety, unable to sit still”). The PSC shows convergence with informant ratings ( Jellinek et al, 1995 ) and criterion and predictive validity ( Jutte et al, 2003 ). Internal consistency was good, α internalizing = .80, α externalizing = .84, α inattention = .82, α total = .92.…”