Psychometric Evaluation of the TIC Grade, a Self-Report Measure to Assess Youth Perceptions of the Quality of Trauma-Informed Care They Received

Background Agencies and clinical practices are beginning to provide trauma-informed care (TIC) to their clients. However, there are no measures to assess clients’ perceptions of and satisfaction with the TIC care they have received. A 20-item questionnaire, the TIC Grade, was developed, based on the National Center for Trauma-Informed Care principles of TIC, to assess the patient or client perception of the TIC provided in settings that serve adolescents and emerging adults. Objective The goal of this project was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the TIC Grade instrument and to make recommendations for use of the full measure and its short form—an overall letter grade. Study Design The TIC Grade questionnaire was administered to youth over the age of 18 years from four community partners providing care to vulnerable young adults. Potential participants were offered questionnaires at the end of their visit. Those interested in participating left their completed anonymous questionnaire in a locked box to maintain confidentiality. Questionnaires were collected from 100 respondents; 95 were complete enough to include in analyses for psychometric evaluation. Results The findings of this project support the reliability and usability of the 20-item TIC Grade measure to assess youth’s perceptions of the quality of TIC they received. Conclusions This TIC-specific, behaviorally worded client report measure can assist service delivery organizations to assess their success at implementing TIC and to identify areas where further staff training and support are needed.