Abstract
Background. Adverse childhood experiences refer to a group of potentially traumatic events that a person can experience during the early years of life, for which the individual has no coping skills. Such experiences are usually later related to health disorders, including heart disease, heart attacks, diabetes, and obesity, as well as mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety. Currently, there are no valid instruments to retrospectively evaluate these experiences in Mexico. Objective. To adapt the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire to an adult population cared for in primary medical services in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. Method. The questionnaire evaluated child abuse and family dysfunction in a sample of 672 adults. Results. The content validity index ranged from good to very good. Alpha values of internal consistency were moderate (.62 to .68) so eliability was acceptable. Two factors explained 40.17% of the total variance, and an internal structure of two first-order factors was confirmed. Discussion. The questionnaire showed acceptable validity and reliability to retrospectively detect childhood adversity. The discussion also addresses the possibility to evaluate the cumulative effect of these experiences and the possible addition of other types of psychosocial adversity.
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