GPS
Global Psychotrauma Screen - Transdiagnostic screening after trauma
The GPS in short
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The GPS is a transdiagnostic screener for stress and trauma related reactions in the past month.
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The GPS begins with questions about the stressful or traumatic event.
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The GPS provides indicators of:
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specific trauma related disorders or problems (e.g., PTSD)
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overall symptom burden
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The GPS also assesses risk and protective factors known to influence the development or course of symptoms
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It can be used in a variety of settings such as in primary care, after disasters, or in clinical practice.
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The GPS is available in over 30 languages.
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The GPS-app provides the user with direct feedback on the scores.
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A 'positive' score may require more detailed follow-up assessments, e.g., with structured interviews for specific disorders.
Take the GPS here (https://gps.global-psychotrauma.net)
Using GPS
The GPS is freely available and accessible through the web-app, or by requesting the pdf by filling out the form below.
The User Guide provides background information, scoring instructions and norm scores for almost 9000 participants from many countries around the world.
Researchers or clinicians who wish to further translate the GPS in another language are requested to fill out the form below.
GPS for children and teenagers (GPS-c and GPS-T)
Versions for children and teens can be found here.
Global Psychotrauma Screen (GPS) audio versions
To accommodate less literate individuals around the world to quickly and easily screen for trauma related symptoms we are currently testing out an audio version for the GPS in Portuguese. First results show this seems to work very well, especially in a vulnerable community.
Below please find the English language version. We will soon be adding the audio versions for several languages, including African dialects.
Supported by a charity: Sync Body-Brain Health
STUDENT PROJECT*
Paper in a Day Project: An Exploration of Trauma-Related Symptoms and Symptom Patterns Across the World
Project leaders: Dr Hope Christie and Dr Anke de Haan
A successful Paper in a Day (PIAD) workshop based on the worldwide GPS dataset was held at ISTSS, read more on the Students page.
*Student projects are projects run by students.
The Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress emphasizes the importance to bring together trainees, graduate students, medical residents or post-docs across the world to work together on topic of global importance. Students are the future!
Read more on Student projects.
Languages
The GPS is currently available in the languages below.
The GPS app allows users to easily fill out the GPS and to receive immediate feedback on scores.
Or download the pdf, or listen to audio version.
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Amharic: pdf
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Arabic: pdf
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Bemba: pdf
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Burmese: pdf
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Farsi/Persion: pdf
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Haitian: pdf
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Hausa: pdf
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Hebrew: pdf
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Romanian: pdf
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Swahili: pdf
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Xhosa : pdf
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Yoruba : pdf
The English version has been translated into the languages listed above following the translation and cultural adaptation process described by Sousa and Rojjanasrirat (2011) or a similar process.
Please note that some (African) languages are widely spoken across different countries and there might be instances when the terminology may suit one country better than another. Please contact us at gc.traumaticstress@gmail.com if a specific country version is required.
Development of the GPS
The GPS was developed by an international group of experts representing traumatic stress societies worldwide, called the Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress (Olff et al., 2020; Schnyder et al., 2017). The aim was to address the need for a brief instrument that would assess the wide range of acute or long-term potential consequences of very stressful / potentially traumatic events. The instrument screens for more than posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; see subdomains below). The GPS is intended for use in a variety of settings such as in primary care, after disasters, or for quick screening in clinical practice. For details on its development see Olff et al. (2020).
The GPS and its subdomains
The GPS consists of 17 symptom items, and 5 risk/protective factor items, each answered in a yes/no format, and one functioning item assessed on a scale from 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent).
The symptom domains covered in the GPS are:
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PTSD
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Disturbances in Self-Organization (DSO) as part of Complex PTSD
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Anxiety
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Depression
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Sleep problems
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Self-harm
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Dissociation
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Other physical, emotional or social problems
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Substance abuse
Risk and protective factors assessed are:
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Other stressful events
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Childhood trauma
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History of mental illness
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Social support
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Psychological resilience
Scoring and interpretation
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The GPS provides indicators of:
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specific trauma related disorders or problems (GPS subdomains e.g., PTSD)
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overall symptom burden
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The GPS also assesses risk and protective factors known to influence the development or course of symptoms
Details can be found in the GPS user guide (this page).
Scoring positive above the cutoff or on certain domains (e.g. of PTSD, anxiety or depression may require more detailed follow assessments, e.g. with structured interviews for specific disorders.
Psychometric properties and norm data
Ongoing research suggests good internal reliability as well as concurrent validity of the GPS with instruments measuring a range of psychotrauma related symptom subdomains (Olff et al., 2020 & 2021, Oe et al., 2020; Rossi et al., 2020; Rossi et al., 2021; Frewen et al., 2021). Network analyses confirm the conceptualization of psychological responses to traumatic events (including COVID-19) as a network of highly interconnected symptoms and support the use of a transdiagnostic approach (Williamson et al., 2021).
Cross cultural norm data have been collected in a large global sample and data collection is ongoing. A paper based on over 7000 participants has been published (Olff et al., 2021).
GPS total and subdomain scores per gender as well as means and SDs for GPS symptom scores of male and female respondents in specific countries in the user guide (on this page).
Research
Ongoing research using the GPS
An overview of ongoing studies can be found here.
Any studies missing? Please email: gc.traumaticstress@gmail.com
Below please find a list of published articles that have used the GPS.
Collecting GPS data for research or clinical use
Researchers and clinicians may get a private portal for access to GPS app data. Please contact us if you are interested.
Please contact us if you are interested.
GPS existing data sets
Please feel free to use existing data sets including the GPS to answer further research questions. These can be found here.
Contact details
If you have any questions regarding the GPS, please contact us:
Literature
Belquaid, S., Faure, S., Hoeboer, C.M., Olff, M. (2023). Global Psychotrauma Screening: The French Version. Poster presentation at Trauma, Crisis and Conflict: Connecting Research and Practice, Sept 28-29, Hilversum, The Netherlands
Frewen, P., McPhail, I., Schnyder, U., Oe, M., Olff, M. (2021). Global Psychotrauma Screen (GPS): Psychometric Properties in two Internet-based Studies. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 12(1), https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2021.1881725
Frewen, P., Vincent, A., & Olff, M. (2024). Childhood trauma histories in men and women assessed by the childhood attachment and relational trauma screen (CARTS) and the global psychotrauma screen (GPS): Results from the global collaboration on traumatic stress (GC-TS). Child Abuse & Neglect, 149, 106610. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106610
Grace, E., Rogers, R., Usher, R., Rivera, I.M., Elbakry, H., Sotilleo, S., Doe, R., Toribio, M., Coreas, N., & Olff, M. (2023). Psychometric Properties of the Global Psychotrauma Screen in the United States. Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine, 11,1, 2266215, doi.org/10.1080/21642850.2023.2266215 .
Haering, S., Kooistra, M. J., Bourey, C., Chimed-Ochir, U., Doubková, N., Hoeboer, C. M., Lathan, E. C., Christie, H., & de Haan, A. (2024). Exploring transdiagnostic stress and trauma-related symptoms across the world: A latent class analysis. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 15(1), 2318190. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008066.2024.2318190
Havermans, D. C. D., Hoeboer, C. M., Sobczak, S., Primasari, I., Coimbra, B. M., Hovnanyan, A., Novakovic, I. Z., Langevin, R., Aakvaag, H. F., Grace, E., Dragan, M., Lueger-Schuster, B., El-Hage, W., & Olff, M. (2023). The mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and exposure to other potentially traumatic events up to old age. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 36(4), 738-749. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.22937
Hoffman, J., Ben-Zion, Z., Arévalo, A., Duek, O., Greene, T., Hall, B., Harpaz-Rotem, I., Liddell, B., Locher C., Morina, N., Nickerson, A., Pfaltz, M., Schick, M., Schnyder, U., Seedat, S., Shatri, F., Fong Sit,, H., von Känel., R. & Spiller, T.R. (2022). Mapping the availability of translated versions of posttraumatic stress disorder screening questionnaires for adults: A scoping review protocol. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 13,2. doi 10.1080/20008066.2022.2143019
Leuchter, L., Frewen, P., & Lueger-Schuster, B. (2021). Validation and cross-cultural comparisons of the German Childhood Attachment and Relational Trauma Screen (CARTS). European journal of psychotraumatology, 12(1), https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2021.1918901
Marengo, D.,*, Hoeboer*, C.M., Veldkamp, B.P., GPS-txt consortium, & Olff M. (2022). Text mining to improve screening for trauma-related symptoms in a global sample. Psychiatry Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114753
Oe, M., Kobayashi, Y., Ishida, T., Chiba, H., Matsuoka, M., Kakuma, T., Frewen, P. & Olff, M. (2020). Screening for psychotrauma related symptoms: Japanese translation and pilot testing of the Global Psychotrauma Screen. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 11(1), doi 10.1080/20008198.2020.1810893.
Olff, M., Bakker, A., Frewen, P., Aakvaag, H., Ajdukovic, D., Brewer, D., Elmore Borbon, D.L., Cloitre, M., Hyland, P., Kassam-Adams, N., Knefel, M., Lanza, J.A., Lueger-Schuster, B., Nickerson, A., Oe, M., Pfaltz, M.C., Salgado, C., Seedat, S., Wagner, A., Schnyder, U. & Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress (GC-TS) (2020). Screening for consequences of trauma – an update on the global collaboration on traumatic stress. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 11(1), https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2020.1752504
Olff, M., Primasari, I, Qing, Y, Coimbra B.M., Hovnanyan, A, Grace E, Williamson, R.E., Hoeboer, C.M. & Global Collaboration on Traumatic Stress (GC-TS) (2021). Mental Health Responses to COVID-19 around the World. European Journal of Psychotraumatology,12(1), https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2021.1929754
Rossi, R., Socci, V., Pacitti, F., Di Lorenzo, G., Di Marco, A., Siracusano, A., Rossi, Alessandro (2020). Mental Health Outcomes Among Frontline and Second-Line Health CareWorkers During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic in Italy. JAMA Network Open. 2020;3(5):e2010185. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.10185
Rossi, R., Socci, V., Talevi, D. Cinzia Niolu, C., Pacitti, F., Di Marco, A., Rossi, A., Siracusano, A., Di Lorenzo, G., Olff, M. (2021). Trauma-spectrum symptoms among the Italian general population in the time of the COVID-19 outbreak. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 12(1), https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2020.1855888
Salimi, Y., Hoeboer, C., Motevalli Haghi, S.A. et al. (2023). Trauma and its consequences in Iran: cross-cultural adaption and validation of the Global Psychotrauma Screen in a representative sample. BMC Psychiatry 23, 65. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-023-04564-8
Schnyder, U., Schafer, I., Aakvaag, H. F., Ajdukovic, D., Bakker, A., Bisson, J.I., Brewer, D., Cloitre, M., Dyb, G.A., Frewen, P., Lanza, J., Le Brocque, R., Lueger-Schuster, B., Mwiti, G.K., Oe, M., Rosner, R., Schellong, J., Shigemura, J., Wu, K., & Olff, M. (2017). The global collaboration on traumatic stress. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 8(1), https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2017.1403257
Sousa, V.D. & Rojjanasrirat, W. (2011). Translation, adaptation and validation of instruments or scales for use in cross-cultural health care research: a clear and user-friendly guideline. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice 17 , 268–274
Wiertz, C.M.H., Hemmen, B., Sep, S.J.S., van Santen, S., van Horn, Y.Y., van Kuijk, S.M.J., Verbunt, J.A. (2022) Life after COVID-19: the road from intensive care back to living - a prospective cohort study. BMJ Open. 2022 Nov 2;12(11):e062332. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-062332. PMID: 36323469
Williamson, R. E.. Hoeboer, C.M., Primasari, I., Qing, Y., Coimbra, B.M., Hovnanyan, A., Grace, E., Olff, M. (2021): Symptom networks of COVID-19-related versus other potentially traumatic events in a global sample. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 84, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2021.102476
Child/adolescent studies
Bi, Y., Cao, C., Fang, R., Wang, N., Liu, P., Luo, S., Grace, E., & Wang, L. (2024). A latent class analysis of dissociative PTSD subtype among Chinese adolescents following the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. Journal of Affective Disorders, 349, 596-603. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2023.12.078
Cao, C., Wang, L., Fang, R., Liu, P., Bi, Y., Luo, S., Grace, E., & Olff, M. (2021). Anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms among high school students in China in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. Journal of Affective Disorders, 296. 126-129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.09.052
Grace, E., Sotilleo, Sh., Rogers, R., Doe, R., & Olff, M. (2021). Semantic adaptation of the Global Psychotrauma Screen for children and adolescents in the United States. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 12, (1). https://doi.org/10.1080/20008198.2021.1911080
Koutsopoulou, I., Grace, E., Gkintoni, E., & Olff, M. (2024). Validation of the Global Psychotrauma Screen for Adolescents in Greece. European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 100384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejtd.2024.100384
* Shared first authorship