Violence Exposure and Trauma Screener for Youth (VETSY)

Youth exposed to violence are at serious risk for physical, emotional, behavioral, and mental distress. Reliable and prompt detection is necessary to mitigate the psychological consequences of youth violence exposure and trauma.

To describe the initial creation of the VETSY screener and its construct validity and potential use.

From 2014 through 2022 we surveyed 20,532 at-risk youth aged 8-18 years from a diverse metropolitan community participating in the Defending Childhood Initiative (DCI). Youth completed a 17-item self-report screener. An Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was used to determine the reliability and variable grouping for this brief screener. Violence exposure, violent behaviors, and trauma symptoms were assessed. Responses were evaluated based on youth demographics. A potential cutoff score meriting further assessment and intervention was established.

Sixty-seven percent of youth reported at least one type of violence exposure within the last year, 55 % reported perpetrating at least one type of violent behavior, and 68 % of youth reported at least one trauma symptom. An Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) with a geomin (oblique) rotation was applied and yielded a three-factor model with high loadings and acceptable fit for violence exposure, violent behaviors, and trauma symptoms. Additional analyses showed the screener structure was the same across sex, race and age groups.

The use of the brief screener to quickly and reliably assess violence exposure, violent behaviors, and trauma symptoms among youth provides an opportunity for mental health providers to detect and refer at-risk youth for additional assessment and treatment.