The feasibility of the COMMUNICATE toolkit to support the communication of physical activity messages with adolescents in Irish schools.

Exposure to potentially traumatic events is highly prevalent during childhood and adolescence, with recent epidemiological studies indicating that approximately one‐third (31.1%) to more than half (58.4%) of young people experience at least one traumatic event during their lifetime (Carliner et al. ; Lewis et al. ). While many trauma‐exposed youth do not develop clinical post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a significant subgroup remains at high risk, with estimated prevalence rates ranging between 12.0% and 20.3% depending on the diagnostic criteria applied (Visser et al. ). PTSD symptoms in youth include those among the DSM‐5 B, C, D, and E subcategory symptoms of , , , and (APA ). Early identification of these symptoms is essential for timely intervention and the prevention of long‐term psychological impairment, functional and behavioral disturbances, and developmental disruptions. A variety of methods are used to assess PTSD symptoms in children/adolescents, including clinical self‐report interviews with the traumatized child/adolescent, parent/caregiver interviews, and self‐administered measures. Among these, clinical self‐report interviews with youth are particularly valuable for detecting internalizing symptoms that may not be recognized by parents/caregivers. The UCLA PTSD Reaction Index (PTSD‐RI) is the most widely used PTSD assessment in clinical and research settings, has been translated into numerous languages, and its psychometric properties have been well documented (Steinberg et al. ). Following the DSM‐5 revision of PTSD in 2013 which added three new symptoms (negative expectations about the self, others, or the world; distorted blame; and reckless or self‐destructive behavior) and reorganized the disorder into four categories (APA ), the Reaction Index was updated to the 31‐item PTSD‐RI‐5. The revised scale now assesses Criterion A exposure plus the four DSM‐5 B, C, D, and E categories The PTSD‐RI‐5 includes two complementary versions: a self‐report form for children and adolescents, and a caregiver‐report form that provides for a comprehensive assessment from both the child's and the caregiver's perspectives, further contributing to its widespread use in the evaluation of trauma‐related symptoms (Kaplow et al. ; Ramos et al. ; Steinberg et al. ).