The Organizational Trauma Resilience Assessment: Methods and Psychometric Properties

Clinical Impact Statement This article describes the process of developing and the psychometric properties of a valid and reliable instrument for measuring organizational trauma resilience-defined as an organizational culture that fosters the safe, stable, and nurturing environment necessary for a thriving trauma-responsive workforce. The Organizational Trauma Resilience Assessment is a 40-item, nonproprietary instrument with five dimensions, which may also be used separately as subscales, including (a) training and sustaining a trauma-responsive workforce; (b) culture of trust and support; (c) practices of inclusivity, safety, and wellness; (d) collaboration and empowerment; and (e) trauma-responsive services. Objective: Despite many strengths of trauma-informed care (TIC), critics argue TIC is necessary but alone insufficient, can be deficit focused, lacks construct operationalization, and requires greater inclusion of resilience theory. We sought to address these critiques by creating an assessment tool through an iterative and community-engaged process. Method: We collected cross-sectional data between May and June 2019 with a convenience sample from 12 sites across the United States (N = 861). Data were analyzed through application of classical test theory and item response theory, using principal components analysis. Results: The final 40-item Organizational Trauma Resilience Assessment (OTRA) is sufficiently unidimensional and has a five-factor solution with strong validity and reliability. Conclusion: We believe this instrument marks the first of its kind to synthesize tenets of organizational resilience with TIC principles. Creation of the OTRA progresses the TIC knowledge base and is a cost-effective and valid method for evaluating organizational culture of trauma resilience.