Development and validation of a brief questionnaire for the joint assessment of early maltreatment and early caring experiences

IF 3.4 2区心理学 Q1 FAMILY STUDIES

Child Abuse & Neglect Pub Date : 2025-04-18 DOI:10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107440

Sergio Gloger , Dante Diez de Medina , M. Victoria Chacón , Cristián Cáceres , Eduardo Sánchez , Marietta Alegría , Pablo Martínez

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Early life experiences significantly impact mental health, yet tools assessing both early maltreatment experiences (EME) and early caring experiences (ECE) remain scarce.

Objective

This study aimed to develop and validate the self-reported Early Maltreatment & Caring Experiences (EMCE) questionnaire, a concise tool for dual assessment of these experiences.

Participants and setting

A clinical sample of 272 adults diagnosed with major depressive disorder was recruited from an outpatient clinic in Santiago, Chile.

Methods

Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA), internal consistency, and test-retest reliability of the EMCE were assessed. Logistic regression with 1000 bootstrap replications evaluated predictive validity for complex and severe depression. Construct validity was assessed against the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF), and resilience was measured using the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS).

Results

CFA refined the EMCE into a concise 6-item version (χ²(7) = 9.54, p = .216, RMSEA = 0.037, CFI = 0.995, TLI = 0.989) with strong psychometric properties, including good internal consistency (α = 0.73 for EME, α = 0.80 for ECE), excellent test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.86 and 0.79, respectively). Each EME point increased odds of complex depression (OR = 1.33, 95 % BC CI 1.18–1.52), while higher ECE scores reduced them (OR = 0.83, 95 % BC CI 0.74–0.94). Agreement analyses with the CTQ-SF supported construct validity.

Conclusions

The EMCE provides a reliable, concise tool for assessing early maltreatment and caregiving experiences, supporting clinicians and researchers in exploring vulnerabilities and protective factors. Its brevity ensures feasibility in clinical and research settings.

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为联合评估早期虐待和早期照顾经历而编制和验证一份简短问卷

生活经历对心理健康有显著影响，但评估早期虐待经历（EME）和早期照顾经历（ECE）的工具仍然很少。目的建立和验证儿童早期虐待自述量表。关怀经历（EMCE）调查问卷，是对这些经历进行双重评估的简明工具。研究人员从智利圣地亚哥的一家门诊诊所招募了272名被诊断为重度抑郁症的成年人作为临床样本。方法采用验证性因子分析（CFA）、内部一致性和重测信度进行评价。使用1000个自举重复的逻辑回归评估了复杂和严重抑郁症的预测效度。建构效度采用儿童创伤简易问卷（CTQ-SF）评估，心理弹性采用简易弹性应对量表（BRCS）测量。结果scfa将EMCE简化为简明的6项版本（χ2(7) = 9.54, p = 0.216, RMSEA = 0.037, CFI = 0.995, TLI = 0.989），具有较强的心理测量学性质，具有良好的内部一致性（EME的α = 0.73， ECE的α = 0.80），良好的重测信度（ICC分别为0.86和0.79）。每一个EME点增加复杂抑郁的几率（OR = 1.33, 95% BC CI 1.18-1.52），而较高的ECE分数降低这种几率（OR = 0.83, 95% BC CI 0.74-0.94）。与CTQ-SF支持结构效度的一致性分析。EMCE为评估早期虐待和护理经验提供了可靠、简洁的工具，支持临床医生和研究人员探索脆弱性和保护因素。它的简洁性确保了临床和研究环境的可行性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Child Abuse & Neglect Multiple-

CiteScore

7.40

自引率

10.40%

发文量

397

期刊介绍： Official Publication of the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. Child Abuse & Neglect The International Journal, provides an international, multidisciplinary forum on all aspects of child abuse and neglect, with special emphasis on prevention and treatment; the scope extends further to all those aspects of life which either favor or hinder child development. While contributions will primarily be from the fields of psychology, psychiatry, social work, medicine, nursing, law enforcement, legislature, education, and anthropology, the Journal encourages the concerned lay individual and child-oriented advocate organizations to contribute.