Global Psychotrauma Screen
Teen Version(GPS-T)
User guide
March 2022

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

www.global-psychotrauma.net/gps

GLOBALCOLLABORATION
on Traumatic Stress

Global Psychotrauma Screen – Teen (11-17 years)
The GPS-T in short• The Global Psychotrauma Screen – Teen version (GPS-T) is a screening instrument
designed for teenagers aged 11-17 years to identify reactions to a severe stressor /potentially traumatic event (17 yes/no questions)• It also assesses risk or protective factors known to influence the development or courseof symptoms (5 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 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 teenagers by the “GPS for Child andTeen Project” group within the Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress (Schnyder et al.,2017). The aim of the “GPS Child and Teen Project” is to advance knowledge and evidence
about the impact of adverse life events on adolescent population. The GPS Teen version(GPS-T) was revised and semantically adapted in the United States for adolescents aged 1117 years (Grace et al., 2021). Upon its validation, GPS-T can be used in clinical and nonclinical settings to screen for acute or long-term consequences of potentially traumaticevents.
The GPS-T and its domains
The GPS-T consists of 17 symptom items, and 5 risk/protective factor questions, eachanswered in a yes/no format, and one functioning item. The English version is attached(Appendix 1). See website (https://www.global-psychotrauma.net/gps-child-teen) for otherlanguages.
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• Substance abuse
Risk and protective factors assessed are:• Other stressful events• Childhood trauma• History of mental illness• Social support• Psychological resilience

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The GPS-T app
The GPS-T 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-T 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 apdf translation can be obtained through the website. The GPS-T is currently available in
10 languages (to download PDF go to the website):

GPS-T• Arabic download pdf• Chinese download pdf• Dutch download pdf• English download pdf• German download pdf• Greek download pdf• Hungarian download pdf• Norwegian download pdf• Russian download pdf• Slovak 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.
“GPS Risk & Protective Factors is the sum score of all the risk and protective factors.
Subdomain scores are all mean item scores of the subdomain.
Scoring GPS items 1-21: No=0; Yes=1. GPS Item 22: No=1; Yes=0. (Note that in the GPS app
data GPS22 is already recoded)••••••••••“GPS_Symptoms”: Sum of items 1-16 + 18 (range 0-17).
“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_SubstanceAbuse” Item 18 (range 0-1).

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on Traumatic Stress••"GPS_OtherProblems" Item 16 (range 0-1).
“GPS_RiskProtect” Sum of items 17 + 19-22r (range 0-5).

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).
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),https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2021.1881725
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 ofPsychotraumatology, 8,(1), doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2017.1403257

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Appendix 1. GPS Teen English version

Global Psychotrauma Screen for Teens (GPS-T)
11-17 years|__|__|__|__|__|
Participant Identification Number

Gender:o FemaleAge (years):|__|__|o Maleo Othero Prefer Not To Say

Sometimes things happen to people that are unusually frightening and horrible. If such things
happened to you, please answer the questions below about the event that now bothers you the most.
After the event, have you had any of the following in the last month? Please mark “No” if you did notexperience it, or mark “Yes” if you experienced it.
1.
had very scary dreams or upsetting thoughts about the event?
o No
o Yes
2.

tried hard not to think about the event, or tried to avoid places, situations,people, and anything that reminded you of the event?

o No

o Yes

3.

been constantly on guard, watchful, or easily startled, even when there was no
reason for it?

o No

o Yes

4.

felt numb or detached from people, activities, or surroundings in a way thatmakes you feel absent even though you are physically present?

o No

o Yes

5.

felt guilty for what happened to you and for any problems the event caused?

o Noo Yes

6.

felt bad about yourself, as if you are not important or you do not matter?

o No

o Yes

7.

had anger or rage that you could not control?

o No

o Yes

8.

felt nervous or anxious?

o No

o Yes

9.

could not stop or control your worrying?

o No

o Yes

10.

felt down, depressed, or hopeless?

o No

o Yes

11.

had little interest or pleasure in doing things that used to bring you joy?

o No

o Yes

12.

had problems falling or staying asleep, even though you wanted to sleep?

o No

o Yes

13.

tried to hurt yourself on purpose?

o No

o Yes

14.

viewed the world and other people around you in a way that seemed strange
as if you were in a dream, even though you were awake?

o No

o Yes

15.

felt like you are looking down on yourself from above, or like you are seeing
your body from outside?

o No

o Yes

16.

had any other problems bothered you (for example, aches or pains, bad feelings,
problems with school, family, or friends)?

o No

o Yes

17.

experienced other stressful events (for example, not having enough money or food,moving to another house, incidents at school, with friends, or family members?)

o No

o Yes

18.

tried to lessen bad feelings by smoking or vaping, drinking alcohol, using
drugs, or taking medication that was not prescribed to you?

o No

o Yes

19.

did not have supportive people to take care of you (for example, help you feelbetter when you are upset, give you rides to school or events, go with you to a doctor orhospital)?

o Noo Yes

20.

During your early childhood (0-10 years), did you experience any otherfrightening or horrible events?

o Noo Yes

21.

Have you ever been told that you have emotional or behavioral problems or
have you ever been treated for such problems (for example, depression, anxiety,o Noo Yes

ADHD, eating disorder, or any behavioral issues)?

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Do you generally consider yourself to be a resilient person (someone whobounces back from difficult situations or who can overcome bad things happening)?

F.

o Noo Yes

How would you rate your present functioning (how are you doing now at home, school, and other areas ofyour life)?

Poor1

2

3456

7

8910

Excellent© 2021, Global Psychotrauma Screen 2.0 Olff & Bakker, Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress. Update foradolescents, GPS-T, 2021, Grace & Olff, https://www.global-psychotrauma.net/gps-child-teen

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