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Mental Disorders · Journal article
European Journal of Psychotraumatology · July 24, 2026
Reinforces what was already believed, rather than introducing something new.
This cross-sectional study of 462 adults across diagnostic groups examined convergent validity of three retrospective childhood maltreatment measures (CTQ-SF, CECA.Q, KERF-40+) and their associations with adult emotion dysregulation (n=244). The three measures showed high intercorrelation and each demonstrated significant associations with emotion dysregulation, particularly emotional maltreatment by parents and peers during ages 12–17.
Cross-sectional observational study with correlational and machine-learning analysis. 462 adults with and without different mental disorders; subsample of 244 with emotion dysregulation assessment.. n = 462. Germany (multiple university departments and clinical sites across cities including Heidelberg, Munich, Berlin, Bielefeld, Mannheim).
Global scores and subscale scores of CTQ-SF, CECA.Q, and KERF-40+ were highly intercorrelated in the transdiagnostic sample Both global scores of CTQ-SF and KERF-40+ showed significant associations with DERS total score Emotional maltreatment scores of all three measures (CTQ-SF, CECA.Q, KERF-40+) showed significant associations with DERS total score
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Clinicians using retrospective childhood maltreatment assessment should know that CTQ-SF and CECA.Q offer efficient screening while KERF-40+ provides developmentally sensitive detail. The findings suggest that emotional maltreatment during early-to-mid adolescence warrants particular clinical attention when assessing roots of adult emotion dysregulation.
Cross-sectional validation study demonstrating high convergent validity across three established childhood maltreatment measures and their associations with emotion dysregulation in a transdiagnostic sample; reinforces existing measurement approaches rather than introducing novel intervention or practice.
As stated by the source record.
Quoted from the source exactly as published.
Clinicians using retrospective childhood maltreatment assessment should know that CTQ-SF and CECA.Q offer efficient screening while KERF-40+ provides developmentally sensitive detail. The findings suggest that emotional maltreatment during early-to-mid adolescence warrants particular clinical attention when assessing roots of adult emotion dysregulation.
Graded across the dimensions that decide whether you should act, each from what the source actually supports. There is no single score, and where a dimension was not assessed it says so.
Background: Childhood maltreatment (CM) is a major risk factor for different mental disorders and transdiagnostic mechanisms, including emotion dysregulation. Progress in the field has been constrained by substantial variability in the measurement of CM across studies.Objective: We aimed to examine the associations among three common retrospective measures of CM and their relationship with emotion dysregulation in a transdiagnostic adult sample, with a focus on exploring the significance of sensitive developmental periods.Method: In our cross-sectional study, we collected data from N = 462 participants with and without different mental disorders. We assessed facets of CM using two questionnaires and one in-person interview, specifically the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire - Short Form (CTQ-SF), the Childhood Experience of Care and Abuse Questionnaire (CECA.Q), and the brief German interview version of the Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology of Exposure scale (MACE), the KERF-40+. We measured emotion dysregulation in a subsample of n = 244 participants using the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). We analysed data applying correlational analyses and machine-learning-based conditional random forest regression.Results: In our transdiagnostic sample, global scores (including sum, multiplicity, and duration scores) and subscale scores of the CTQ-SF, CECA.Q, and KERF-40+ were highly intercorrelated. Both global scores of the CTQ-SF and KERF-40+, and emotional CM scores of the CTQ-SF, CECA.Q, and KERF-40+ showed significant associations with the DERS total score. Regarding sensitive developmental periods, exposure to parental emotional abuse, emotional neglect, and emotional and physical abuse by peers - particularly during the ages 12-17 - was significantly associated with the DERS total score.Conclusions: Despite substantial differences in the facets of CM assessed, the CTQ-SF, CECA.Q, and KERF-40+ demonstrate high convergent validity. While CTQ-SF and CECA.Q allow for a more efficient assessment of CM experiences, the KERF-40+ offers added value for developmentally sensitive analyses of adult emotion dysregulation.
Taken from the source record, never inferred. Follow any of these and new work involving them reaches your briefing.