Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF): Dimensionality, validity, reliability and gender invariance among Nigerian adolescents

Background: Childhood abuse and neglect have been associated with long term psychological consequences. There is no valid, reliable and gender invariant scale available for the evaluation of childhood abuse and neglect among Nigerian adolescents. Objective: To evaluate the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) in terms of its factor structure, validity, reliability, and gender measurement invariance among Nigerian adolescents. Method: Senior high school adolescents (n = 1337, aged 13-18 years) completed the CTQ-SF in addition to the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the 12-items General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and the Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation Inventory (PANSI). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the original (Bernstein et al., 2003) and alternative (Gerdner & Allgulander, 2009) CTQ-SF models. The fit indices of these two models tested applying CFA were compared. Concurrent validity of the CTQ-SF was examined with correlational analyses with other study measures. The internal consistencies of the CTQ-SF and its subscales were examined with the MacDonald's omega (wh) coefficients. Gender measurement invariance was evaluated with multiple-group CFA (MGCFA). Results: The alternative CTQ-SF model compared to the original model exhibited a better fit (CFI = 0.928, RMSEA = 0.046 [90 %CI: 0.043-0.050], SRMR = 0.044). The internal consistency and concurrent validity of this model were satisfactory. MGCFA provided evidence that supported the configural, metric and scalar gender measurement invariance. Conclusion: The alternative CTQ-SF exhibited satisfactory validity, reliability, and gender measurement invariance and, therefore, could be used for the evaluation and gender comparison of abuse and neglect among Nigerian adolescents.