The 39-item Child Exposure to Community Violence (CECV) scale: exploratory factor analysis and relationship to PTSD symptomatology in trauma-exposed children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to multiple forms of community violence in youth is associated with a wide range of negative health outcomes. A number of scales measuring community violence exposure have been developed, including the Child Exposure to Community Violence Checklist (CECV).

PURPOSE: This study examined the psychometric properties of an adapted version of the CECV in a South African sample of trauma-exposed youths. In addition, the study assessed the relationship between exposure to community violence and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology.

METHODS: Trauma-exposed youth completed two self-report instruments, namely, the CECV and the Child PTSD Checklist (CPC), on a single occasion. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to investigate the factor structure of the CECV, and the association between CECV and CPC scores was also explored.

RESULTS: EFA of the CECV revealed three factors that accounted for 38.66 % of variance in the model and consisted of 29 of the original 39 items. Reliability of the three factors ranged from moderate to excellent (α = 0.682 to α = 0.892). Exposure to community violence was positively correlated with posttraumatic stress symptomatology (r = 0.464, p < 0.001). Adolescents attending high school reported significantly higher levels of exposure to community violence than did children in primary school.

CONCLUSION: Findings provide support for the conceptualization of exposure to community violence as comprising distinct, multiple factors. Levels of exposure to community violence and family violence were high. We found a highly significant, positive association between exposure to community violence and PTSD symptomatology, providing evidence for the convergent validity of the CECV.