Franziska Meinck
University of Oxford
Franziska Meinck is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Centre for Evidence-Based Interventions at the University of Oxford. She holds a BA in Social Work, an MSc in Evidence-Based Social Interventions and a DPhil in Social Interventions. Her research focuses on the epidemiology of child abuse in South Africa and on the psychometric properties of child abuse measures.
Background: Child abuse is a major public health problem. In order to establish the prevalence of abuse exposure among children, measures need to be used that are age appropriate, sensitive, reliable and valid. Objective:... [ view full abstract ]
Background: Child abuse is a major public health problem. In order to establish the prevalence of abuse exposure among children, measures need to be used that are age appropriate, sensitive, reliable and valid.
Objective: This study aims to investigate the psychometric properties, validity and reliability of the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire Short Form (ACE-SF).
Methods: The ACE-SF is an 8-item retrospective self-report questionnaire measuring lifetime physical, emotional and sexual abuse. Data from a nationally representative sample of 15-year old school-going adolescents (n=1733, 55.5% female) participating in the 2014 Health and Behaviour in School-based Children Study (HBSC) in Romania were available. First, exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was employed to determine the factorial structure of the ACE-SF. Second, results from the EFA were confirmed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Third, measurement invariance was examined across boys and girls. Fourth, internal reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s α and finally, concurrent criterion validity was established.
Results: EFA established a two factor structure with a physical/emotional abuse and a sexual abuse dimension. This model was confirmed in CFA and fitted the data well [RMSEA=.036; CFI/TLI=.990/.986; WRMR 1.026]. Partial scalar invariance was supported across genders. In particular, being shouted at and being slapped contributed differently towards the abuse constructs for girls than for boys. Internal consistency was good (.83) for the sexual abuse scale and poor (.57) for the physical/emotional abuse scale. Concurrent criterion validity confirmed hypothesized relationships between childhood abuse and health related quality of life, life satisfaction, self-perceived health, bullying victimization and perpetration, externalizing and internalizing behaviours and multiple health complaints.
Conclusions: Results support the ACE-SF as a valid measure of physical, emotional and sexual child abuse in school-aged adolescents. Future research is needed to replicate findings in other youth populations and across different age groups.
