Influence of depressive symptoms and current suicidality on the stability of responses to the childhood trauma questionnaire
Hala Kerbage (1, 2) , Marie Christine Picot (3) , Sylvie Charpentier (4) , Marion Leboyer (5, 6, 7) , Philippe Courtet (4, 5, 8) , Emilie Olié (5, 4, 8)
1 CESP - Centre de recherche en épidémiologie et santé des populations
2 Hôpital Saint Eloi [CHU Montpellier]
3 CIC Montpellier
4 CHRU Montpellier - Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire [Montpellier]
5 Fondation FondaMental [Créteil]
6 IMRB - Institut Mondor de Recherche Biomédicale
7 AP-HP - Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP)
8 IGF - Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle
Résumé
Background: Childhood maltreatment (CM) is a major risk factor for depression and suicidality. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) is a widely used retrospective tool for assessing CM, but its stability over time may be influenced by mood state. Objective: This study evaluates the temporal stability of CTQ responses over six months among individuals with a history of suicide attempt and the influence of mood state and suicidality on self-reported CM. Participants and setting: Participants were drawn from a multicenter cohort of 533 adult suicide attempters hospitalized in three French university hospitals. A subset of 164 participants who completed at least one CTQ dimension at baseline and six months were analyzed. Methods: Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Current suicidal ideation was evaluated via MADRS item 10. CTQ stability was analyzed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), Bland-Altman plots, and correlations with depression changes. Results: The total CTQ score showed excellent stability (ICC = 0.89, 95 % CI: [0.85-0.92]). Abuse subscales had high reliability (ICC > 0.84), while neglect subscales were less stable (ICC = 0.73 for emotional neglect, ICC = 0.65 for physical neglect). Variations in depressive symptoms weakly correlated with physical abuse scores (r = -0.18, p = 0.03). No significant effect of suicidal ideation was found. Conclusions: The CTQ is a stable measure of CM. However, neglect dimensions require cautious interpretation. These findings support the CTQ's use in both clinical and research settings within a trauma-informed care approach.
Hala Kerbage, Marie Christine Picot, Sylvie Charpentier, Marion Leboyer, Philippe Courtet, et al.. Influence of depressive symptoms and current suicidality on the stability of responses to the childhood trauma questionnaire. Child Abuse & Neglect : The International Journal, 2025, 167, pp.107560. ⟨10.1016/j.chiabu.2025.107560⟩. ⟨hal-05122949⟩
