Factor structure of the Children’s Revised Impact of Event Scale (CRIES) with children exposed to earthquake

Abstract

This paper describes the factor structure of the newly developed 13-item version of the Impact of Event Scale (CRIES), which was administered along with the Children’s Post-Traumatic Stress Reaction Index (CPTS-RI) to 2037 children and adolescents, aged 9–17 years, from the Municipality of Peristeri, as a part of a survey concerning children’s stress reactions after the 1999 Athens earthquake. Results showed that the total scores on both instruments were highly correlated ( r = 0.79), confirming the convergent validity of the scale. Furthermore, the internal consistency of the scale was excellent with acceptable values for the three subscales. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the three CRIES subscales formed separate but inter-correlated factors (i.e. PTSD symptom domains), irrespective of age and gender, basically replicating the factor structure found in previous studies with different child populations. These factors loaded on a general PTSD factor. These findings imply that post-traumatic stress reactions are not culture-bound, and that the CRIES factor structure is stable across age, gender, and different types of trauma.