Objective To translate and culturally adapt the Trauma Disclosure Expectancy Scale into Chinese，and to assess the reliability and validity of the Chinese version. Methods The Chinese version of Trauma Disclosure Expectancy Scale was translated，back-translated，and culturally debugged according to the Brislin translation model. The convenience sampling method was used to select 311 car accident survivors from the emergency department，emergency wards，orthopedic department，and rehabilitation department of a tertiary level A hospital in Zhejiang Province between February and March 2025. The reliability and validity of the Chinese version were tested，with 30 patients randomly selected for test-retest reliability assessment after a 2-week interval. Results The Chinese version of the Trauma Disclosure Expectancy Scale comprised 2 dimensions and 21 items. The scale demonstrated a Cronbach’s α coefficient of 0.900 and a test-retest reliability of 0.890. The content validity index was 0.902，with item-level content validity indices ranging from 0.803 to 1.000. Exploratory factor analysis extracted 2 dimensions，accounting for 69.69% of the cumulative variance. The scale scores showed a positive correlation with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale （r=0.313，P<0.001） and a negative correlation with the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory（r=-0.217，P<0.001）. Conclusion The Chinese version of the Trauma Disclosure Expectancy Scale exhibits good reliability and validity，making it suitable for assessing patients’ psychological expectations of trauma exposure. It provides a scientific foundation for post-traumatic psychological interventions and nursing practices.