Global Psychotrauma ScreenChild Version(GPS-C)
User guide
March 2022

The GPS-C in short .................................................................................................................... 2
The GPS-C and its domains ....................................................................................................... 2
The GPS-C app........................................................................................................................... 2
Collect your own GPS data........................................................................................................ 3
Scoring instructions .................................................................................................................. 3
References ................................................................................................................................ 4
Appendix 1. GPS Child English version .................................................................................. 5

www.global-psychotrauma.net/gps

GLOBALCOLLABORATION
on Traumatic Stress

Global Psychotrauma Screen – Child (6-10 years)
The GPS-C in short• The Global Psychotrauma Screen – Child version (GPS-C) is a screening instrument
designed for teens aged 6-10 years to identify reactions to a severe stressor /potentially traumatic event (16 yes/no questions)• It can be used in different settings such as in primary care, after disasters, in clinical ornon-clinical practice.
• The app is currently under development that will provide direct feedback on the scores.
• Scoring positive above the cutoff or on certain domains (e.g. of posttraumatic stressdisorder (PTSD)) may require more detailed follow-up assessments, e.g. with structured
interviews for specific disorders.

The GPS adult version (Olff et al., 2020) was adapted for children by the “GPS for Child andTeen Project” group within the Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress. The aim of the“GPS Child and Teen Project” is to advance knowledge and evidence about the impact ofadverse life events on child population. The GPS Child version (GPS-C) was revised andsemantically adapted in the United States for children aged 6-10 years (Grace et al., 2021).
Upon its validation, GPS-C can be used in clinical and non-clinical settings to screen for acuteor long-term consequences of potentially traumatic events.
The GPS-C and its domains
The GPS-C consists of 16 symptom items. The English version is attached (Appendix 1). See
website (https://www.global-psychotrauma.net/gps-child-teen) for other languages.
The symptom domains covered in the GPS are:
• PTSD• Disturbances in Self-Organization (DSO) as part of Complex PTSD
• Anxiety• Depression• Sleep problems• Self-harm• Dissociation• Other physical, emotional or social problems
The GPS-C app
The GPS-C will be available in the underlined languages below through the GPS webapp (seehttps://www.global-psychotrauma.net/gps-child-teen). The app will allow to easily fill out theGPS-C and to receive immediate feedback on scores.
The English version has been translated by bilingual trauma experts using the consensusbased translation and cultural adaptation process. Not all languages are available yet, but a
pdf translation can be obtained through the website. The GPS-C is currently available inmany languages (to download PDF go to the website):

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GLOBALCOLLABORATIONon Traumatic StressGPS-C•••••••••••••

Arabic download pdf
Chinese download pdf
Dutch download pdf
English download pdf
German download pdf
Greek download pdf
Hebrew download pdf
Hungarian download pdf
Norwegian download pdf
Russian download pdf
Slovak download pdf
Spanish download pdf
Ukrainian download pdf

Collect your own GPS data
For researchers and clinicians, there is a possibility to get access to GPS app data collected
through your own portal. Please contact us if you are interested.
Scoring instructions
Several scores can be calculated. “GPS symptoms” is the sum score of all symptom items.
Subdomain scores are all mean item scores of the subdomain.
Scoring GPS items 1-16: No=0; Yes=1.
“GPS_Symptoms”: Sum of items 1-16 (range 0-16).
•••
•••••
•

“GPS_PTSD” Sum of items 1-5 (range 0-5).
“GPS_DSO” Sum of items 6-7 (range 0-2).
“GPS_CPTSD" Sum of “GPS_PTSD” and “GPS_DSO” (range 0-7).
“GPS_Anxiety” Sum of items 8-9 (range 0-2).
“GPS_Depression” Sum of items 10-11 (range 0-2).
“GPS_Insomnia” Items 12 (range 0-1).
“GPS_Self-harm” Item 13 (range 0-1).
“GPS_Dissociation” Sum of items 14-15 (range 0-2).
"GPS_OtherProblems" Item 16 (range 0-1).

Preliminary data on adults suggest that a cutoff 8 or 9 on the total symptoms score isindicative of PTSD (Frewen et al., 2021, Haghi et al., under review), with 8 for maximized
sensitivity, 9 for higher specificity. Based on a cutoff of ≥3 for PTSD domain, the rate ofprobable PTSD was 16.9% (n = 9810) with the mean 1.0 (SD = 1.5, range: 0–5) in China (Cao etal., 2021).

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It is advised that scoring positive above the total symptom cutoff or on certain domains isfollowed up with more detailed assessments, e.g. with structured interviews for specificdisorders.

References
Cao, C., Wang, L., Fang, R., Liu, P., Bi, Y., Luo, S., Grace, E., & Olff, M. (2021). Anxiety, depression, and PTSD
symptoms among high school students in China in response to the COVID-19 pandemic andlockdown. Journal of Affective Disorders, 296. 126-129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.09.052
Grace, E., Sotilleo, Sh., Rogers, R., Doe, R., & Olff, M. (2021). Semantic adaptation of the Global
Psychotrauma Screen for children and adolescents in the United States. European Journal ofPsychotraumatology, 12(1). 1911080. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2021.1911080
Frewen, P., McPhail, I, Schnyder, U., Oe, M., Olff, M. (2021). Global Psychotrauma Screen (GPS):
Psychometric properties in two Internet-based Studies. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 12(1),Olff, M., Bakker, A., Frewen, P., Aakvaag, H., Ajdukovic, D., Brewer, D., Elmore Borbon, D.L., Cloitre, M.,Hyland, P., Kassam-Adams, N., Knefel, M., Lanza, J.A., Lueger-Schuster, B., Nickerson, A., Oe, M., Pfaltz, M.C.,
Salgado, C., Seedat, S., Wagner, A., Schnyder, U. & Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress (GC-TS)(2020). Screening for consequences of trauma – an update on the global collaboration on traumaticstress. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 11(1),1752504 https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2020.1752504
Schnyder, U., Schafer, I., Aakvaag, H. F., Ajdukovic, D., Bakker, A., Bisson, J.I., Brewer, D., Cloitre, M., Dyb, G.A.,
Frewen,P., Lanza, J., Le Brocque, R., Lueger-Schuster, B., Mwiti, G.K., Oe, M., Rosner, R., Schellong, J.,
Shigemura, J., Wu, K., & Olff, M. (2017). The global collaboration on traumatic stress. European Journal of
Psychotraumatology, 8,(1), doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2017.1403257

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GLOBALCOLLABORATION
on Traumatic StressAppendix 1. GPS Child English version

Global Psychotrauma Screen for Children (GPS-C)
6–10 years
Are youo a girlo a boy

How old are you?

____ years|__|__|__|__|__|
Participant
Identification Numbero prefer not to say

Sometimes bad things happen to people that are very frightening orhorrible. Please answer the questions below if bad things happened to you.
After the bad thing happened, have anything bothered you in the lastmonth? Please mark “No” if it did not bother you, or mark “Yes” if any of thethings below bothered you:1

Have you thought a lot about it, or did it come back ino Novery scary dreams?

o Yes

2

Have you tried hard to stop thinking about it, or to getaway from people, places, or anything that reminds
you of what happened?

o Noo Yes

Have you been constantly looking around as if thatbad thing was happening again, watching out for
danger even when there was no reason for it?

o Noo Yes

4

Has it been it hard for you to feel or to do things, or too No
be with people like before?

o Yes

5

Have you blamed yourself for what happened to you? o Noo Yes

6

Have you felt bad about yourself, as if you are notimportant?

o No

o Yes

7

Have you felt so angry that you could not control
what you say and do?

o No

o Yes

8

Have you been nervous or scared more than before?

o No

o Yes

9

Have you worried a lot and could not stop worrying?

o No

o Yes

10

Have you been sad or crying a lot, or have you
thought that things will never get better for you?

o No

o Yes

11

Has it been hard for you to enjoy things or to have
fun like before when doing things?

o Noo Yes

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14

15

16

Has it been hard for you to fall asleep or to stayasleep without waking up at night?
Have you tried to hurt yourself?
Have you felt like you were in a dream while youwere awake, or as if things around you were strange
like in a dream?
Have you felt like you are looking down on yourself
from above, or like you are seeing your body fromoutside?
Have other problems bothered you (for example,
feeling sick, having any aches or pains, feelinglonely, or not getting along with your friends andother people)?

GPS-C User Guide-March 2022

o No

o Yes

o No

o Yes

o No

o Yes

o No

o Yes

o No

o Yes

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