Assessing childhood trauma in New Zealand prisons: Mixed method validation of the CTQ-SF.

BACKGROUND

Childhood trauma has crucial implications for correctional rehabilitation, with higher rates of abuse and neglect being associated with lower rates of treatment completion. This necessitates a valid screening tool for prison-based rehabilitation programmes.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the psychometric properties of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) in a New Zealand (NZ) correctional context and explore participants' experiences completing the questionnaire.

PARTICIPANTS

The quantitative study involved 174 men from prison-based rehabilitation programmes (n = 75) and the general NZ population (n = 99). Participants in the qualitative study were 10 men engaged in prison-based rehabilitation programmes.

METHOD: Internal consistency was examined, and confirmatory factor analysis was used to explore the reliability and validity of the CTQ-SF. The qualitative study involved focus groups, and the data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

RESULTS

While the incarcerated sample reported significantly higher rates of trauma than the general population (η2p = 0.37), the factor structure of the CTQ-SF was an adequate fit for the combined sample (CFI = 0.917, TLI = 0.906, RMSEA = 0.088). However, focus groups revealed potential issues with the items, response options, and assessment process. Participants believed the CTQ-SF did not capture the complexity of their experiences and wanted a greater focus on healing and autonomy in the assessment process.

CONCLUSION

Findings can be used to adapt the CTQ-SF to better suit correctional contexts and address barriers to treatment completion.