Citation

Petrikova M, Kascakova N, Furstova J, Hasto J, Tavel P. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021; 18(5).

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph18052440

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Previous research has shown a strong relationship between childhood trauma and worsened physical and mental health. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) is a commonly used tool assessing early traumatic experiences. The aim of this study was to verify the psychometric properties of the Slovak version of the CTQ.

METHODS: Data were collected on a representative Slovak sample (N = 1018, mean age 46.24 years, 48.7% of men). The dimensional structure of the CTQ was tested by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA); convergent validity was assessed using the Adverse Childhood Questionnaire (ACE-IQ).

RESULTS: CFA confirmed the standard 5-factor CTQ model. The subscales of the CTQ and the ACE-IQ questionnaires showed moderate to high correlations. The internal consistency of the scale was found to be acceptable. Emotional neglect (EN) was reported in 48.1%, physical neglect (PN) in 35.8%, emotional abuse in 15.8%, physical abuse (PA) in 11.0%, and sexual abuse (SA) in 9.1% of the Slovak population, according to the scoring, when even low abuse or neglect is assessed as trauma.

CONCLUSION: The CTQ questionnaire fulfilled the validation criteria and appeared to be a suitable method for assessing retrospectively reported childhood trauma experiences in the Slovak population.

Language: en

Keywords

validation; physical abuse; sexual abuse; Childhood Trauma Questionnaire; emotional abuse; emotional neglect; physical neglect