Stability of retrospective self-reports of child abuse and neglect before and after therapy for child abuse issues

Objective: This study is a follow-up to a previously reported outcome study evaluating the efficacy of an emotionally focused therapy for adult survivors of childhood abuse. The present purpose was to evaluate the stability of self-reports of child maltreatment in the context of reduced psychopathology after therapy. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ; Bernstein et al., 1994) was used to measure the extent of child abuse and neglect. Method: The CTQ and measures of symptomatology, abuse resolution, and self-esteem were administered at pretreatment to 44 clients and after 6 months of therapy to 33 therapy completers. Post-treatment interviews also assessed changes in clients' perceptions of self and abusive and neglectful others. Analyses examined change on dependent measures, in inter-views, and on the CTQ, as well as the test-retest and alpha reliabilities of CTQ factor scales, and the relationship of CTQ factor scales with pretreatment measures of distress. Results: Analyses revealed significant reductions in psychopathology on all dependent measures and reduced self-blame, negatively biased memories, avoidance, and minimization of the abuse after therapy. Reports of abuse and physical neglect on the CTQ remained stable from pre- to post-therapy. All CTQ dimensions demonstrated good internal consistency and convergent validity with trauma-specific measures of distress. Conclusions: The stability of the CTQ in the context of significantly reduced psychopathology contributes to evidence supporting the accuracy of retrospective self-reports of childhood abuse. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.