CHILD AND ADOLESCENT TRAUMA SCREEN 2 (CATS-2)
CAREGIVER REPORT (AGES 7-17)
CHILD’S NAM E: ______________ CAREGIVER NAM E: _______________ __ DATE: ______
Stressful or scary events happen to m any children. Below is a list of stressful and scary events thatsometim es happen. Mark YES if it happened to the child to the best of your knowledge. Mark NO of it didn’t
happen to the child.
YESNO

1. Serious natural disaster like a flood, tornado, hurricane, earthquake, or fire.

OO

2. Serious accident or injury like a car/bike crash, dog bite, or sports injury.

OO

3. Threatened, hit or hurt badly within the family.

OO

4. Threatened, hit or hurt badly in school or the community.

OO

5. Attacked, stabbed, shot at or robbed by threat.

OO

6. Seeing someone in the family threatened, hit or hurt badly.

OO

7. Seeing someone in school or the community threatened, hit or hurt badly.

OO

8. Someone doing sexual things to the child or making the child do sexual things to them when he/she couldn’t
say no. Or when the child was forced or pressured.

OO

9. On line or in social media, someone asking or pressuring the child to do something sexual. Like take or sendpictures.

OO

10. Someone bullying the child in person. Saying very mean things that scare him/her.

OO

11. Someone bullying the child online. Saying very mean things that scare him/her.

OO

12. Someone close to the child dying suddenly or violently.

OO

13. Stressful or scary medical procedure.

OO

14. Being around war.

OO

OO

15. Other stressful or scary event?
Describe:________________________________________________________________________________________
16. Which event(s) are your child bothering the most now?
________________________________________________________________________________________

T u rn the page and answer the next questions about all the scary or stressful events that

happened to the child.

1CATS 7-17 VERSION 2.0 (SACHSER ET AL., 2022)|Mark 0, 1, 2 or 3 for how often the child has had the following thoughts, feelings, or problems in
the last four weeks: 0 = Never / 1 = Sometimes / 2 = Often / 3 = Almost always
1. Upsetting thoughts or memories about what happened pop into the child’s head. Or the child reenacting what happened in play.

0123

2. Bad dreams related to what happened.

0

12

3

3. Acting, playing, or feeling as if what happened is happening right now.

0123

4. Feeling very upset when reminded of what happened.

01235. Strong physical reactions when reminded of what happened (sweating, heart beating fast, upsetstomach).
6. Trying not to think about or have feelings about what happened.

01230123

7. Avoiding anything that is a reminder of what happened (people, places, things, situations, talks).

0123

8. Not being able to remember an important part of what happened.

0123a. I won’t have a good life.

0123b. I can’t trust other people.

0123c.

The world is unsafe.

0123d. I am not good enough.

0123a. Blaming self for what happened.

0123b. Blaming others for what happened even though it wasn’t their fault.

0123

11. Upsetting feelings (afraid, angry, guilty, ashamed) a lot of the time.

01

2

3

12. Not wanting to do things he/she used to do. Losing interest in activities he/she used to enjoy.

01

23

13. Not feeling close to people.

01

23

14. Showing or having less happy feelings.

01

2

3a. Having a hard time calming down when upset.

0123b. Being irritable. Or having angry outbursts and taking it out on others.

012316. Risky behavior or behavior that could be harmful. Doing unsafe things.

0123

17. Being overly alert or on guard.

012318. Being jumpy or easily startled.

0123

19. Problems with concentration.

012320. Trouble falling or staying asleep.

0123YESNO

9.

Having negative thoughts, such as:

10. Blame for the event(s)15. Managing strong feelings

Please mark YES or NO if the problems you marked interfered with:

2YESNO

1. Getting along with others

OO

4. Family relationships

OO

2. Hobbies/FunOO

5. General happiness

OO

3. School or work

OO

CATS 7-17 VERSION 2.0 (SACHSER ET AL., 2022)|

DIMENSIONAL SCORING
Child’s Name: _______________ Date of Assessment: ____________ Index Traumatic Event(s): _______________
Scoring fo r posttraumatic st ress symptom intensity (DSM -5 PTSD)
Sum of s ympt om items #1 to #20. Onl y count the highest score for #9; #10 and #15.
DSM-5 PT SD Sum = ______CATS 7-17 Years

CATS 7-17 Years

CATS 7-17 Years

CATS 7-17 Years

Score <15

Score 15-20

Score ≥ 21*

Score ≥ 25*

Normal. Not clinicallyelevated.

Moderate trauma-related
distress.

Elevated distress. Positive
Screening threshold. *High trauma-related distress.
Probable PTSD. **Validation study: Sachser et al., 2022

Scoring fo r posttraumatic st ress symptom intensity (ICD -11 PTSD)
Sum of s ympt om items #2, #3, #6, #7, #17, #18 .
ICD- 11 PT SD Sum = ______CATS 7-17 Years

CATS 7-17 Years

CATS 7-17 Years

CATS 7-17 Years

Score <5

Score 5-6

Score ≥ 7*

Score ≥ 9*

Normal. Not clinicallyelevated.

Moderate trauma-relateddistress.

Elevated distress. Positive
Screening threshold. *High trauma-related distress.
Probable PTSD. **Validation study: Sachser et al., 2022

Scoring fo r posttraumatic st ress symptom intensity (ICD -11 CPTSD)
Sum of s ympt om items #2, #3, #6, #7, #9b, #9d, #10a, #13, #14, #15a, #17, #18 .
ICD- 11 C PT SD Sum = ______CATS 7-17 Years

CATS 7-17 Years

CATS 7-17 Years

CATS 7-17 Years

Score <9*

Score 10-12*

Score ≥ 13*

Score ≥ 16*

Normal. Not clinicallyelevated. *Moderate trauma-relateddistress. *Elevated distress. Positive
Screening threshold. *High trauma-related distress.
Probable CPTSD. ** clinical approximation, cut-off validation pending.

3CATS 7-17 VERSION 2.0 (SACHSER ET AL., 2022)|

CATEGORICAL SCORING
Child’s Name: _______________ Date of Assessment: ____________ Index Traumatic Event(s): _______________

DSM-5 PTSD
DSM-5 Criteria:# of Symptoms(Only count items
rated 2 or 3)# Symptoms
RequiredRe-experiencing
Items 1-5
Avoidance
Items 6-7
Negative Mood/Cognitions
Items 8-14 (highest of #9, #10 and #15)
Hyperarousal
Items 15-20
Functional Impairment
Set of 1-5 Yes/No questions
Probable DSM-5 PTSD Diagnosis*

DSM-5 Criteria Met?

1+

Yes

No

1+

Yes

No

2+

Yes

No

2+

Yes

No

1+

Yes

No

Yes

No

ICD-11 PTSD and CPTSD
ICD-11 Criteria:# of Symptoms(Only count items
rated 2 or 3)

Re-experiencing
Items 2,3
Avoidance
Items 6, 7
Hyperarousal
Items 17,18
Functional Impairment
Set of 1-5 Yes/No Questions
Probable ICD-11 PTSD Diagnosis*
CPTSD Criteria (only if ICD-11 PTSD is fulfilled)
Emotion Regulation
Items 14,15a
Negative Self-Concept
Items 9d, 10aDisturbed Relationships
Items 9b, 13
Probable ICD-11 CPTSD Diagnosis*# Symptoms
RequiredICD-11 Criteria Met?

1+

Yes

No

1+

Yes

No

1+

Yes

No

1+

Yes

NoYes

No1+

Yes

No

1+

Yes

No1+

Yes

NoYes

No*CATS-2 is constructed as a screening instrument. Elevated scores may be sufficient to suggest a trauma focused treatment,
but because it relies on self-report, clinicians should be cautious to use it as a diagnostic tool.

4CATS 7-17 VERSION 2.0 (SACHSER ET AL., 2022)|