Child Abuse Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Child Abuse, including details on family violence, examinations, long-term effects, psychiatrics disorders.

The German Version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ):Preliminary Psychometric Properties.

Wingenfeld K, Spitzer C, Mensebach C, Grabe H, Hill A, Gast U, Schlosser N, Höpp H, Beblo T, Driessen M

Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Psychosomatische Medizin und Psychotherapie, Hamburg.

Given the relevance of child maltreatment for the development and treatment of many mental disorders, the objective of our study was the psychometric evaluation of the German version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). In a sample of psychiatric patients (N=1 524) the established factor structure (i. e. sexual, physical and emotional abuse as well as physical and emotional neglect) was replicated by means of confirmatory factor analysis. The internal consistency of all scales (apart from physical neglect) was high (Cronbachs alpha >/= 0.89). Correlations between the CTQ and self-report measures for posttraumatic stress, dissociation and general psychopathology were low to moderate. The psychometric properties of the German version of the CTQ were similar to the American original; it proved to be a reliable and valid screen for the retrospective assessment of child maltreatment.

Published 4 March 2010 in Psychother Psychosom Med Psychol.
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Articles on Child Abuse published 4 March 2010:

Child maltreatment, alcohol use and drinking consequences among male and female college students: An examination of drinking motives as mediators.   Addict Behav.

Although the relationship between child maltreatment and alcohol use and drinking problems is well established, the mechanisms involved in this relationship remain largely unknown and research has focused primarily on women. Using the Modified Drinking Motives Questionnaire-Revised (M-DMQ-R; Grant, Stewart, O'Connor, Blackwell & Conrod, 2007), drinking motives were examined as mediators in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and alcohol consumption and consequences among male ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Child Abuse published 3 March 2010:

Childhood sexual abuse and adolescent substance use: A latent class analysis.   Drug Alcohol Depend.

Children who have exposure to child sexual abuse (CSA) are at particular risk for developing substance abuse in adolescence, but the extent to which CSA may shape patterns of adolescent substance use remains uncertain. The aim of this paper is to characterize the variations in patterns of adolescent substance use and to examine the association between CSA and qualitatively distinct patterns of adolescent substance use. Latent class analyses identified homogenous groups of adolescents with ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Child Abuse published 2 March 2010:

The course of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity symptoms after foster placement.   Pediatrics, 125(3): e489-98.

BACKGROUND: It is largely unknown whether symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity of foster children decline over time after placement and what the role of the quality and stability of the foster placement is on the course of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptom trajectories. Longitudinal studies of normative trajectories of symptom types in nonreferred children may assist in appropriately diagnosing ADHD and designing the clinical treatment for foster children. ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Alcohol consumption among patients with hepatitis B infection in northern Portugal considering gender and hepatitis B virus genotype differences.   Alcohol, 44(2): 149-156.

Alcohol abuse is an important public health problem. In Portugal with a population of 10 millions of inhabitants, there are around 10% of alcoholics or excessive alcohol drinkers and 1% of chronically infected patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV). To examine the characteristics of patients with higher levels of alcohol consumption and to investigate the association between alcohol consumption and liver damage a total of 298 chronically infected individuals, with HBV genotyped and submitted to ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Pediatric radiological diagnostic procedures in cases of suspected child abuse.   Forensic Sci Med Pathol.

Advanced and specialized radiological diagnostic procedures are essential in cases of clinically diagnosed injuries to the head, thorax, abdomen or extremities of a child, especially if there is no case history or if the reporting of an inadequate trauma suggests battered child syndrome. In particular, these diagnostic procedures should aim at detecting lesions of the central nervous system (CNS), so that the treatment can be immediately initiated. If the diagnostic imaging reveals findings ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Association Between Cannabis Use and Psychosis-Related Outcomes Using Sibling Pair Analysis in a Cohort of Young Adults.   Arch Gen Psychiatry.

CONTEXT: Prospective cohort studies have identified an association between cannabis use and later psychosis-related outcomes, but concerns remain about unmeasured confounding variables. The use of sibling pair analysis reduces the influence of unmeasured residual confounding. OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between cannabis use and psychosis-related outcomes. DESIGN: A sibling pair analysis nested within a prospective birth cohort. SETTING: Births at a Brisbane, Australia, hospital. ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Trends in childhood violence and abuse exposure: evidence from 2 national surveys.   Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, 164(3): 238-42.

OBJECTIVE: To assess trends in children's exposure to abuse, violence, and crime victimizations. DESIGN: An analysis based on a comparison of 2 cross-sectional national telephone surveys using identical questions conducted in 2003 and 2008. SETTING: Telephone interview. PARTICIPANTS: Experiences of children aged 2 to 17 years (2030 children in 2003 and 4046 children in 2008) were assessed through interviews with their caretakers and the children themselves. Outcome Measure Responses to the ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Child Abuse published 1 March 2010:

Long-term follow-up of adolescent depression. A population-based study.   Ups J Med Sci, 115(1): 21-9.

Abstract Adolescent depression is common. Earlier studies indicate that relapses and recurrences are common. But many questions are still unanswered. The aim of the present study has been to follow subjects with adolescent depressions, identified in a population-based study, over a 15-year period. Subjects with adolescent depression (n = 362) and a comparison group (n = 250) were followed in the National Swedish registers. The formerly depressed females had significantly more out-patient ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

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