Minority Student Initiative - Noelle Mathew

Noelle Mathew, a 4th-year clinical psychology PhD student at Palo Alto University, presented a paper at the 2017 American Psychology-Law Society Conference in Seattle, WA titled Examining Childhood Maltreatment Rates and Psychometric Properties of the CTQ-SF in an Ethnically Diverse College Sample. Congratulations on a wonderful presentation, Noelle!​

Abstract:

​The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form is a reliable and valid screening measure for childhood maltreatment in adults (Bernstein et al., 2003); however, research to date includes samples of limited diversity.  The current study seeks to estimate rates of childhood maltreatment and examine the psychometric properties of the CTQ-SF in a sample of 233 ethnically diverse college students.  While, a chi-squared test of model fit revealed that the data did not adequately fit the five-factor model structure (𝝌²(265, N = 233) = 394.66, p≤.001), the RMSEA and CFI indicate a good model fit (RMSEA = .05, CFI = .97).  Results indicated the estimated maltreatment rates significantly differ across ethnic groups and internal consistency is good or acceptable for all subscales except the Physical Neglect subscale. Asian participants reported significantly higher rates of emotional abuse compared to both Hispanic and Caucasian participants. Hispanic and Asian participants reported significantly higher rates of emotional and physical neglect compared to Caucasians, but did not differ from each other.  Differences in reported maltreatment rates may be due to higher rates of maltreatment in certain ethnic groups; however it is also possible that different groups may interpret and endorse items differently.  Results suggest CTQ-SF has a similar structure in an ethnically diverse sample, and demonstrates acceptable internal consistency for all scales but physical neglect, consistent with prior research with primarily Caucasian samples (Pavio & Cramer, 2004).  Limitations include limited generalizability beyond college student population, use of broad ethnic categories, and reliance on a single self-report assessment of childhood maltreatment.