BACKGROUND: Previous research has shown a strong relationship between childhood trauma and worsened physical and mental health. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) is a commonly used tool assessing early traumatic experiences. The aim of this study was to verify the psychometric properties of the Slovak version of the CTQ. METHODS: Data were collected on a representative Slovak sample (N = 1018, mean age 46.24 years, 48.7% of men). The dimensional structure of the CTQ was tested by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA); convergent validity was assessed using the Adverse Childhood Questionnaire (ACE-IQ). RESULTS: CFA confirmed the standard 5-factor CTQ model. The subscales of the CTQ and the ACE-IQ questionnaires showed moderate to high correlations. The internal consistency of the scale was found to be acceptable. Emotional neglect (EN) was reported in 48.1%, physical neglect (PN) in 35.8%, emotional abuse in 15.8%, physical abuse (PA) in 11.0%, and sexual abuse (SA) in 9.1% of the Slovak population, according to the scoring, when even low abuse or neglect is assessed as trauma. CONCLUSION: The CTQ questionnaire fulfilled the validation criteria and appeared to be a suitable method for assessing retrospectively reported childhood trauma experiences in the Slovak population.

Department of Psychiatry Faculty of Medicine Slovak Medical University Limbova 12 83303 Bratislava Slovakia

Department of Social Work St Elizabeth College of Health and Social Work Palackeho 1 81102 Bratislava Slovakia

Olomouc University Social Health Institute Palacky University Olomouc Univerzitní 22 77111 Olomouc Czech Republic

Psychiatric Psychotherapeutic Outpatient Clinic Heydukova 27 81108 Bratislava Slovakia

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