Validation of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire – Short Form (CTQ-SF) for a French-Speaking Sample

Purpose: The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form (CTQ-SF) is a widely used and standardized questionnaire designed to assess five types of childhood abuse. Despite the fact that the CTQ-SF demonstrates good validity and reliability, its internal structure presents some limitations and its original 28-item five-factor model has been contested. The present study assesses the reliability and the factor structure of a French version of the CTQ-SF for an alternative 25-item model and a bifactorial model, using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Methods: Participants were French-speaking females from two independent samples (N = 1903, N = 690). They completed an online sociodemographic questionnaire and the online version of the CTQ-SF. Results: The new model proposed in this article demonstrated excellent fit indices in two independent samples. Our results support the fit of a bifactorial 25-item model, suggesting the presence of a general factor of intrafamilial maltreatment, from which only sexual abuse would be separated. Furthermore, the results support the fit of a solution with seven factors. Conclusion: This research proposes alternative models that address the limitations pinpointed by previous international studies and demonstrate good fit indices. Moreover, these findings provide support for the validity of a French version of the CTQ-SF.