Modeling the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire-International Version.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Public Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are linked to significant physical and mental health problems.
• The ACE-International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ) is a global tool for assessing ACEs.
• Limited research has explored the psychometric properties and structural validity of the ACE-IQ.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the structural validity of the ACE-International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ).
• To compare structural findings using both categorical and item-level data.
• To assess the impact of theoretical grounding in measurement evaluation.

Main Methods:

• Two principal components analyses (PCA) were conducted on ACE-IQ data.
• Analysis 1 utilized World Health Organization (WHO) defined ACE categories.
• Analysis 2 used individual ACE-IQ items as indicators.

Main Results:

• The WHO categorical approach indicated a two-component structure for ACEs.
• PCA of individual ACE-IQ items revealed a six-component structure.
• The findings underscore the influence of analytical methodology on measurement structure.

Conclusions:

• The structural evaluation of the ACE-IQ highlights the importance of theoretically informed psychometric analysis.
• Different analytical approaches yield distinct structural representations of ACEs.
• Understanding the nuanced structure of ACEs is crucial for research and clinical practice.