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The Suitability of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire in Criminal Offender Samples

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  • Vera Maria Wente

    (Institute for Forensic Psychology and Psychiatry, Saarland University Hospital, 66421 Homburg, Germany)

  • Petra Retz-Junginger

    (Institute for Forensic Psychology and Psychiatry, Saarland University Hospital, 66421 Homburg, Germany)

  • Anselm Crombach

    (Department of Psychology, Saarland University, 66123 Saarbruecken, Germany)

  • Wolfgang Retz

    (Institute for Forensic Psychology and Psychiatry, Saarland University Hospital, 66421 Homburg, Germany
    Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg-University, 55131 Mainz, Germany)

  • Steffen Barra

    (Institute for Forensic Psychology and Psychiatry, Saarland University Hospital, 66421 Homburg, Germany)

Abstract

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are common in community samples and are associated with various dysfunctional physical, psychological, and behavioral consequences. In this regard, criminal offenders are at specific risk, considering their elevated ACE rates compared with community samples and the associations of ACEs with criminal behaviors. However, assessing ACEs in offender samples by self-reports has been criticized with regard to their validity and reliability. We examined the suitability of ACE-self-reports using the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) in a sample of 231 male offenders involved in the German criminal justice system by comparing self-reported to externally rated ACEs to externally rated ACEs based on the information from the offenders’ criminal and health-related files and on interviews conducted by forensically trained psychological/psychiatric experts. The accordance between self-ratings and expert ratings was examined considering mean differences, correlations, inter-rater agreement measures, and regression analyses. Offenders themselves reported a higher ACE burden than the one that was rated externally, but there was a strong relationship between CTQ self-assessments and external assessments. However, associations were stronger in offenders seen for risk assessment than in those evaluated for criminal responsibility. Overall, the CTQ seems suitable for use in forensic samples. However, reporting bias in self-reports of ACEs should be expected. Therefore, the combination of self-assessments and external assessments seems appropriate.

Suggested Citation

  • Vera Maria Wente & Petra Retz-Junginger & Anselm Crombach & Wolfgang Retz & Steffen Barra, 2023. "The Suitability of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire in Criminal Offender Samples," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-18, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:6:p:5195-:d:1098282
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Martin H Teicher & Angelika Parigger, 2015. "The ‘Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology of Exposure’ (MACE) Scale for the Retrospective Assessment of Abuse and Neglect During Development," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(2), pages 1-37, February.
    2. Leban, Lindsay & Gibson, Chris L., 2020. "The role of gender in the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and delinquency and substance use in adolescence," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    3. Laura Woehrle & Petra Retz-Junginger & Wolfgang Retz & Steffen Barra, 2022. "The Maltreatment–Aggression Link among Prosecuted Males: What about Psychopathy?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-15, August.
    4. Baglivio, Michael T. & Wolff, Kevin T. & Piquero, Alex R. & Epps, Nathan, 2015. "The Relationship between Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) and Juvenile Offending Trajectories in a Juvenile Offender Sample," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 229-241.
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