Psychometric properties of the farsi version of the international trauma questionnaire -child and adolescent version (ITQ-CA) in a sample of iranian children and adolescents exposed to trauma

Background: The International Trauma Questionnaire-Child and Adolescent Version (ITQ-CA) is a self-report measure for post- traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD), corresponding to the diagnostic criteria in the International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision (ICD-11). While in the meantime the original English version of the ITQ-CA is available in different languages such as traditional and simplified Chinese, German, or Spanish, the Farsi was missing so far. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Farsi International Trauma Questionnaire-Child and Adolescent version (ITQ-CA) in a sample of Iranian children and adolescents objectively exposed to a traumatic event. Method: A total of 130 participants completed the Farsi form of the ITQ-CA and the Farsi Child and Adolescent Trauma Screen (CATS) for comparison. For the psychometric evaluation, we used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and bivariate correlations. Results: The Farsi version of ITQ-CA self-report form yielded scores with robust reliability (internal consistency ranging from 0.83 to 0.91, and the Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) varied from 0.74 to 0.92 with moderate, good, and excellent results) and adequate convergent validity (correlations with the CATS ranging from 0.49 to 0.77). CFA supported ICD-11 CPTSD symptom structure as a two-factor higher order model with PTSD. We found that the two-factor model fit the data better than the other measurement models (χ2/df = 43.492/37 = 1.175, RMSEA = 0.038, CFI = 0.994, TLI = 0.989, SRMR = 0.04.( Conclusion: The Farsi version of the ITQ-CA showed very good and satisfactory psychometric properties. As such, the Farsi ITQ-CA appears to be a valid and reliable self-rating measure to assess PTSD and DSO in Farsi-speaking children and adolescents exposed to traumas.