Structural Validity and Internal Consistency of the Adolescents and Children Risk of Abuse and Maltreatment Parental Scale (ACRAM-PS)

Abstract

There is a clear need for developing a comprehensive, unbiased, and psychometrically sound tool to assess child maltreatment. The aim of this study is to examine the structural validity, internal consistency, and convergent validity of a newly developed child maltreatment assessment instrument. A total of 286 professionals of the child protection system participated in the study, completing a total of 645 cases of children and adolescents. The Adolescents and Children Risk of Abuse and Maltreatment Parental Scale (ACRAM-PS), the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire Short Form (CTQ-SF) and other demographic variables were measured. Structural validity, internal consistency, and convergent validity of the ACRAM-PS were tested. This scale obtained good structural validity, internal consistency, and convergent validity as hypothesized patterns of correlations occurred as expected. This instrument implies a considerable improvement as it is comprehensive, psychometrically sound and, it has been articulated by its own users. It can significantly contribute to establish a common language among professionals, improve multidisciplinary communication, and optimize prevention, detection, and early intervention in child maltreatment.