Factor structure of the Children's Revised Impact of Event Scale among children and adolescents who survived the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China

To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of Children's Revised Impact of Event Scale (CRIES) and its applicability among Chinese children and adolescents, a study was conducted on two samples, the first, 1 month after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, the second, 7 months after the earthquake. High levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms were found among both groups of children. The results also showed a decline of intrusion and arousal symptoms in accordance with the different periods of time elapsed since the earthquake; however, no difference was found in the avoidance symptoms between the two samples. Both the subscales and the CRIES total showed moderate to good reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of CRIES supported the presumed three inter-correlated factors model. However, the results of the second sample (with more than 6 months elapsed subsequent to the earthquake) are more likely to support this model than those of the first sample. This study generally justifies the use of CRIES as a screening instrument for probable PTSD victims among children and adolescents exposed to horrible natural disasters in China. Limitations of the present study and directions for future research are also discussed