Reported Levels of Upset in Youth After Routine Trauma Screening at Mental Health Clinics

Importance: Clinical guidelines recommend routine screening for trauma at youth mental health clinics. However, many clinicians are concerned that screening may be upsetting both for youths who have been exposed to trauma and for those who have not. Objectives: To investigate levels of upset following routine trauma screening and whether type of trauma and symptoms of posttraumatic stress were associated with level of upset. Design, Setting, and Participants: Survey study in which data from routine screening for trauma exposure and trauma-related symptoms were collected from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2017. Nearly half (n = 40) of all youth mental health clinics in Norway submitted survey data. Participants included youths aged 6 to 18 years referred to treatment. Main Outcomes and Measures: The trauma screening inventory, Child 5320 55.0% female), surveyed, 8021 (79.1%) reported exposure to at least 1 potentially traumatizing event and a mean (SD) of 2.44 (2.27) different types of events (range, 0-15). Only 453 participants (4.5%) reported high levels of upset, while 2757 participants (27.2%) reported moderate levels of upset and 6942 participants (68.4%) reported no or low levels of upset. Youths who had been exposed to any type of traumatic event reported significantly higher levels of upset compared with those reporting no trauma exposure, and a higher number of reported traumatic events was associated with a higher level of upset (point estimate, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.22-0.24; P < .001). Among participants who reported trauma, exposure to sexual abuse (point estimate, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.77-0.95; P < .001) and higher levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms (point estimate, 0.05; 95% CI, 0.04-0.05; P < .001) were associated with higher levels of upset. Conclusions and Relevance: A high level of trauma exposure was found among youths referred to youth mental health clinics, but trauma screening was well tolerated, with most participants reporting no or low levels of upset. These findings can be used to support therapists and health care leaders in implementing routine trauma screening to better identify youths who are in need of trauma-focused treatment.