Table 2.
Childhood Adversity Questionnaire Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses
| Exploratory Factor Analysis | Confirmatory Factor Analysis | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAQ items | Factor Loadings | ||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | B | Beta | SE | Z Score | Sig. | Factor Covariances | |
| Total CAQ | |||||||||
| Factor 1—Overt abuse | |||||||||
| I had a strict, authoritarian or regimented childhood | 0.83 | −0.06 | −0.27 | 1.00 | 0.52 | 0.06 | 8.88 | <0.010 | Abuse - neglect beta = 0.89, SE = 0.03, z = 34.73, P = .02 Abuse - breakdown beta = 0.74, SE = 0.05, z = 16.34, P = .02 |
| I was verbally abused by a parent | 0.69 | 0.24 | 0.14 | 1.79 | 0.93 | 0.02 | 42.55 | <0.011 | |
| I suffered humiliation, ridicule, bullying or mental cruelty from a parent | 0.64 | 0.29 | 0.15 | 1.82 | 0.94 | 0.02 | 41.80 | <0.012 | |
| I witnessed physical or sexual abuse of others in family | 0.68 | −0.11 | 0.48 | 1.60 | 0.83 | 0.04 | 20.78 | <0.013 | |
| I was physically abused by a parent | 0.84 | 0.08 | 0.05 | 1.69 | 0.87 | 0.03 | 28.30 | <0.014 | |
| I received too much physical punishment | 0.84 | 0.19 | −0.07 | 1.73 | 0.90 | 0.03 | 31.90 | <0.015 | |
| Factor 2—Lack of care | |||||||||
| No fatherly affectiona | 0.11 | 0.59 | 0.06 | 0.66 | 0.55 | 0.06 | 8.97 | <0.002 | Lack of care - breakdown beta = 0.85, SE = 0.04, z = 21.75, P = .02 |
| No maternal affectiona | 0.03 | 0.95 | −0.24 | 0.78 | 0.65 | 0.06 | 10.56 | <0.003 | |
| I did not have a happy childhood | 0.34 | 0.60 | 0.08 | 0.99 | 0.83 | 0.04 | 23.12 | <0.004 | |
| Mother suffered nervous, emotional trouble or depression | 0.11 | 0.45 | 0.33 | 0.75 | 0.62 | 0.06 | 11.24 | <0.007 | |
| Parents did not do their best for me | 0.33 | 0.53 | 0.11 | 1.00 | 0.83 | 0.05 | 16.56 | <0.001 | |
| I was neglected | 0.26 | 0.58 | 0.25 | 1.02 | 0.85 | 0.04 | 21.43 | <0.005 | |
| I did not have a normal upbringing | 0.26 | 0.57 | 0.28 | 1.15 | 0.96 | 0.02 | 46.02 | <0.006 | |
| I was sexually abused by a parent | 0.17 | 0.44 | 0.4 | 0.99 | 0.82 | 0.06 | 14.77 | <0.008 | |
| I experienced another type of mistreatment | 0.31 | 0.39 | 0.31 | 0.94 | 0.78 | 0.05 | 16.97 | <0.009 | |
| Factor 3—Family breakdown and hardship | |||||||||
| Father suffered nervous, emotional trouble, or depression | 0.15 | −0.02 | 0.66 | 1.00 | 0.63 | 0.06 | 10.28 | <0.016 | |
| Father had trouble with drinking or drugs | −0.28 | 0.19 | 0.78 | 0.69 | 0.43 | 0.07 | 6.14 | <0.017 | |
| Parents divorced or permanently separated in childhood | 0.23 | −0.27 | 0.77 | 0.68 | 0.43 | 0.07 | 6.07 | <0.018 | |
| Mother had trouble with drinking or drugs | −0.24 | 0.48 | 0.48 | 0.89 | 0.56 | 0.08 | 6.60 | <0.021 | |
| Conflict or tension in the householdb | 0.35 | 0.35 | 0.44 | 1.56 | 0.98 | 0.04 | 23.00 | <0.020 | |
| I grew up in poverty or financial hardship | 0.22 | 0.14 | 0.36 | 0.80 | 0.50 | 0.07 | 7.40 | <0.019 |
Note: Bold values in table 2 indicate that the given item loads on the factor displayed in the column.
aParent who was not at all affectionate or no parental figure.
bA lot of conflict or tension