Trauma Symptom Scales for Adolescents (TSSA)

TSSA: The Project

Researchers and thesis/dissertation students wanting to do research on child abuse or trauma as they predict attachment issues, posttraumatic stress, substance abuse, self-injurious behavior, etc. are invited to join John Briere, Ph.D. in the normative and validity data collections for the Trauma Symptom Scales for Adolescents (TSSA). This project allows you to use the upcoming TSSA in your research at no charge, and, if you wish, to received consultation and advice from Dr. Briere on data analysis and write-up of results for publication. If you are a thesis/dissertation student, Dr. Briere will contribute advice as approved by the chair of your committee.

In order to access the TSSA and study support, you must locate and (subject to IRB approval at your site) collect TSSA protocols in (a) normal adolescents, aged 12 to 18 (typically from the school system), or (b) co-administer the TSSA and other tests to clinically-presenting adolescents, and then send “anonymized” TSSA data (i.e., without identifying information) to Dr. Briere by e-mail, with permission to use them in the TSSA normative or validity analyses. These analyses will appear in the TSSA manual, where you will receive acknowledgement as a data contributor.
 
What is the TSSA?

A revision of the unpublished Trauma Symptom Review for Adolescents, the TSSA is a 132-item, pencil-and-paper test of a broad range of trauma-related responses, intended for adolescents aged 12 to 18. The TSSA is copyrighted and will be published by Psychological Assessment Resources.

The TSSA is composed of 17 scales, 8 subscales, and 132 items:

Validity scales: Positive bias, Negative bias.

Clinical scales: Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Reexperiencing, Avoidance, Hyperarousal, Trauma-related Distress, Dissociation, Relational Avoidance, Rejection Sensitivity, Substance Abuse, Self-injurious Behavior, Binge-purge Eating, Dysfunctional Sexual Behavior (this scale can be omitted if problematic at your site), and Suicidality

If you are interested, contact Dr. Briere at info@johnbriere.com.