RESUMO
Purpose: The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) is a widely used retrospective screening tool for childhood maltreatment in adults. Its properties are less known in adolescents. The objective was to investigate acceptability and psychometric properties when used in adolescents. Method: A community sample of adolescents (n=1885) in four waves (from 13 or 14 to 17 years old) and a clinical sample (n=74, mean age 18), both from Sweden, were used to assess acceptability and different aspects of validity and reliability. Results: The CTQ-SF was found to be well-accepted. As expected, the community sample scored lower than the clinical sample on all maltreatment-scales and showed stability over-time. In the community sample, internal consistencies were substantial or excellent for all scales except Physical neglect, and in the clinical sample this was found for all scales. One-year test-retest consistencies of subscales were substantial or almost perfect, and for all scales, they increased from early to mid-adolescence. Directed inconsistencies on item level decreased from early to mid-adolescence. Convergent validity was shown in relation to scales on family climate, parental relations, and emotional health also from early adolescence. Discriminant analyses showed more moderate discriminatory ability although almost seven times better than by-chance. Conclusions: The CTQ is well accepted and can be trusted to provide consistent and valid self-reports from the age of 14 on childhood maltreatment. Some caution is advised when used with younger adolescents, since the test-retest stability is then weaker, and the interpretation of the M/D scale is more ambiguous.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Many children referred to the child welfare services are not screened in for further investigation. Factors related to intake decisions have been found on several levels. Many studies, however, lack information about the children's own experiences of child maltreatment and/or behavioral problems. OBJECTIVE: To examine case factors relating to decision to investigate referrals to the child welfare services in Sweden. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Data are used from a prospective longitudinal multisource program (LoRDYA) in Sweden studying two cohorts of adolescent children in four municipalities (n = 1884). METHODS: By linking annual self-rating data with registry data from the child welfare services, data are analyzed through latent-class analysis and Poisson regression. RESULTS: Most children who are self-rated severely exposed to maltreatment and/or behavioral problems are never investigated by the child welfare services (74.2 %). Referrals concerning girls are more likely to be investigated than referrals concerning boys (crudeAME = 0.09 p = ***). For girls, prior referrals (adjAME = 0.16, p = ***), household poverty (adjAME = 0.09, p = *) and any form of self-rated severe exposure to maltreatment and/or behavioral problems (adjAME = 0.14, p = ***) increased the chance of a decision to investigate. For boys, prior referrals (adjAME = 0.24, p = ***) increased the chance of a decision to investigate, while achieved age (adjAME = -0.03, p = *), and being referred on suspicions of neglect and behavioral problems (adjAME = -0.15, p = **) decreased the chance of a decision to investigate. CONCLUSIONS: Child welfare services assess referrals on boys and girls differently, which may explain why boys have in crude numbers a decreased chance of decisions to investigate.
