Although the reliable and valid Peritraumatic Distress Inventory (PDI–C) and Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire (PDEQ) are useful for identifying adults at risk of developing acute and chronic posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), they have not been validated in school-aged children and their predictive values remain unknown in this population. This study aims to assess the psychometric properties of the children versions of these two measures (PDI-C and PDEQ-C) in a sample of French-speaking school-children.

One-hundred and thirty-three consecutive victims of road traffic accidents, aged 8–15 years, were recruited into this longitudinal study via the emergency room. The peritraumatic reactions were assessed at baseline and PTSD symptoms were assessed 1 month later.

Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.8 and 0.77 for the PDI-C and PDEQ-C, respectively. The 1-month test-retest correlation coefficient (n = 33) was 0.77 for both measures. The PDI-C demonstrated a two-factor structure while the PDEQ-C displayed a one-factor structure. As with adults, the two measures were intercorrelated (r = 0.52) and correlated with subsequent PTSD symptoms and diagnosis (r = 0.21–0.56; P < 0.05).

The children versions of the PDI and PDEQ are reliable and valid in children.