Journal of Traumatic Stress, Vol. 18, No. 6, December 2005, pp. 707–717 ( C  2005) Assessing Violence Exposure and Trauma Symptoms in Young Children: A Critical Review of Measures Carla Smith Stover 1,2 and Steven Berkowitz 1 The acknowledgment of the existence of age-specific posttraumatic stress symptoms in infants, tod- dlers, and preschoolers points to the urgent need for standardized assessment tools for violence expo- sure and trauma symptoms in young children. The authors review the assessment measures currently available for the evaluation of potentially traumatic events (PTE) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in children less than 6 years old. Each measure is described and its strengths and weaknesses discussed in a developmental context, while also considering the specific difficulties inherent to the assessment of young children. Recommendations for further test development are given. The use of standardized measures in the diagnosis of psychiatric disorders has been increasingly recommended as a practice standard (Carter, Briggs-Gowan, & Davis, 2004) for adults and children, but the use of these instru- ments in the diagnosis and treatment of young children continues to lag. Only recently have mental health ex- perts agreed that young children suffer from psychiatric syndromes that are not primarily neurodevelopmental or congenital in etiology and that mood and anxiety disor- ders exist in children less than 6 years old. Currently, child mental health professionals agree that the impact of adverse life events in early childhood on the formation of early and later onset psychopathology cannot be un- derestimated. Researchers have demonstrated that young children display discrete traumatic responses and research studies have concluded that posttraumatic stress disor- der (PTSD) symptoms clearly exist in young children (Gaensbauer, 1994; Scheeringa, Peebles, Cook, & Zeanah, 2001; Scheeringa & Zeanah 2003; Terr, 1988). 1 National Center for Children Exposed to Violence, Yale University Child Study Center, New Haven, Connecticut. 2 To whom correspondence should be addressed at National Cen- ter for Children Exposed to Violence, Yale University Child Study Center, 53 College Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06510; e-mail: Carla.stover@yale.edu. The detection of PTSD symptoms in young chil- dren is of utmost importance because poor developmen- tal outcomes are commonly associated with untreated trauma symptoms (Grych, Jouriles, Swank, McDonald, & Norwood, 2000; Yates, Dodds, Sroufe, & Egeland, 2003). Posttraumatic stress phenomena influence a num- ber of developmental processes including cognitive func- tioning, initiative, personality style, self-esteem, outlook, and impulse control (Pynoos & Nader, 1991). Prominent personality changes have been reported in very young children (Gislason & Call, 1982; Terr, 1988). Childhood trauma studies have also consistently found regressive behavior and a marked change in attitude toward the future with negative expectations and a sense of fore- shortened future (Pynoos & Eth, 1986; Pynoos & Nader, 1991). In this article, we will discuss briefly the challenges of PTSD assessment in young children, but there will not be an exhaustive discussion of these issues, instead our aim is to critically review the measures that are cur- rently available for the assessment of violence exposure and PTSD symptoms in children less than 6 years old. Our goal is to help guide clinicians and researchers in selecting appropriate measures, and review specific needs for progress in this area. 707 C  2005 International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies • Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/jts.20079