Validity, Reliability and Internal Consistency of Persian Versions of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Traumatic Exposure Severity Scale and the Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire

ABSTRACT

The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), the Traumatic Exposure Severity Scale (TESS) and the Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire (PDEQ) are questionnaires widely used in studies of trauma and dissociation. This study aimed to examine the validity of the Persian versions of these questionnaires among a total of 230 individuals from the cities of Kermanshah and Sarpol-e Zahab that had experienced 2017 Iran earthquake. Results from a confirmatory factor analysis did not support the original five-factor solution for the TESS. Two principal component analyses resulted in a four-component solution for a revised version of the scale. PDEQ scores, TESS scores, and its sub-scales, were found to significantly correlate with a PTSD measure with their effect sizes ranging from medium to large according to Cohen’s guidelines. Furthermore, significant correlations between two sub-scales of the CTQ and a dissociation measure were found with medium effect sizes. Consequently, reliability and validity measures obtained from the sample of this study were supportive of the use of the Persian versions of the TESS, the PDEQ, and the CTQ among Persian-speaking populations. Further research on psychological responses to earthquakes and other natural disasters can provide the opportunity for cross-cultural comparisons in terms of specific resilience factors and vulnerabilities following mass trauma.

KEYWORDS:

• Earthquake
• trauma
• post-traumatic stress
• peritraumatic dissociation
• dissociation

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Alinaghi Ghasemiannejad and Mohsen Nurisa for their assistance during the translation process, and Fatemeh Salmani for her help in conducting confirmatory factor analysis.