Questionnaire "Retrospective Assessment of Psychological Violence in Childhood (RAPVIC)" and "Scale of Experience of Psychological Violence in Childhood (SEPVIC): results of development
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17721/BPSY.2026.1(23).5Keywords:
psychological violence, childhood trauma, experience of psychological abuse, victimization, adverse childhood experiences, retrospective assessment, psychometric validation, rapid screeningAbstract
experiences of psychological abuse. The significance of this work stems from the methodological shortcomings of current Ukrainian and adapted foreign instruments. The aim of the study is to develop two complementary instruments: one for the differentiated assessment of sources of psychological abuse and one for the rapid screening of experiences of abuse.
Methods. The main psychometric properties of two methods are described: the "Retrospective Assessment of Psychological Violence in Childhood (RAPVIC)" and the "Scale of Experiences of Psychological Violence in Childhood" (SEPVIC). The study was conducted on a sample of 200 respondents (20 pre-test participants and 180 main study participants). Statistical data analysis was performed using the Jamovi 2.7 software environment. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to optimize the instruments and verify their structural validity. The internal consistency of the scales was tested using Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega coefficients. Criterion concurrent validity was assessed using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) based on the nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test.
Results. The structure of two new instruments was determined. The "Retrospective Assessment of Psychological Violence in Childhood" methodology demonstrated a two-factor structure ("Methods of Violent Influence in the Family" and "Methods of Violent Influence in Society"), which allows for the simultaneous assessment of two sources of victimization among respondents (CFI=0,972, TLI=0,966, RMSEA=0,041). The "Childhood Psychological Abuse Experience Scale" was conceptualized as a unifactorial instrument for rapid screening of the frequency of childhood psychological abuse episodes (CFI=0,970, TLI=0,964, RMSEA=0,046). Both instruments demonstrated high reliability indices (α and ω > 0.80). Criterion validity demonstrated the instruments' sensitivity to age-related characteristics, parental family composition, cognitive impairments, experience with psychotherapeutic care, and other factors.
Conclusions. The newly developed original instruments (RAPVIC and SEPVIC), designed for the retrospective assessment of psychological abuse in childhood, can be used for the differentiated diagnosis of sources of abuse and rapid express screening of the frequency of experienced episodes. Mathematical and statistical testing confirmed the high reliability and validity of the developed instruments, demonstrating their significant potential for practical counseling of adults and further scientific research.
Downloads
References
Тихоненко, Ю. О. (2022). Модифікація, стандартизація та адаптація анкети негативного дитячого досвіду (ACE). Офтальмологічний журнал, (1), 63–72. https://doi.org/10.31288/oftalmolzh202216372
Гендерно зумовлене насильство – шляхи подолання проблеми (2024). Центр громадського здоров'я МОЗ України. URL: https://neuronews.com.ua/ua/archive/2024/10(155)/pages-6-8/genderno-zumovlene-nasilstvo-shlyahi-podolannya-problemi
Закон України від 5 квітня 2001 р. № 2341 III (зі змінами та доповненнями), ст. 126 1. Кримінальний кодекс України (2001) URL: https://kodeksy.com.ua/kriminal_nij_kodeks_ukraini/126-1.htm
Психологічне насильство: види, ознаки та наслідки (б.д.). Міністерство охорони здоров'я України. URL: https://moz.gov.ua/uk/psihologichne-nasilstvo-vidi-oznaki-ta-naslidki
Bellis, M. A., Hughes, K., Ford, K., Quigg, Z., Butler, N., & Wilson, C. (2025). Comparative relationships between physical and verbal abuse of children, life course mental well-being and trends in exposure: A multi-study secondary analysis of cross-sectional surveys in England and Wales. BMJ Open, 15(8), e098412. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bmjopen.2024.098412
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1994). Ecological models of human development. In International Encyclopedia of Education (Vol. 3, 2nd ed.). Oxford: Elsevier. URL: https://www.columbia.edu/cu/psychology/courses/3615/Readings/BronfenbrennerModelofDevelopment(short%20version).pdf
Danese, A., & Widom, C. S. (2020). Objective and subjective experiences of child maltreatment and their relationships with psychopathology. Nature human behaviour, 4(8), 811–818. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0880-3
Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., Koss, M. P., & Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0749-3797(98)00017-8
Geng, J. (2025). A review on adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and protective factors. SHS Web of Conferences, 222, 02011. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/202522202011
Goodall, K., & Sawrikar, V. (2023). The Rating of Emotional Abuse in Childhood (REACH) Questionnaire: A new self-report measure assessing history of childhood emotional abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect, 146, 106498. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106498
J. S. Day, N., Kealy, D., Biberdzic, M., Green, A., Denmeade, G., & Grenyer, B. F. S. (2025). Coercive Control and Intimate Partner Violence: Relationship With Personality Disorder Severity and Pathological Narcissism. Personality and Mental Health, 19(4), e70038. https://doi.org/10.1002/pmh.70038
Karcher, N. R., Niendam, T. A., & Barch, D. M. (2020). Adverse childhood experiences and psychotic-like experiences are associated above and beyond shared correlates: Findings from the adolescent brain cognitive development study. Schizophrenia Research, 222, 235–242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2020.05.045
Liebschutz, J. M., Buchanan-Howland, K., Chen, C. A., Frank, D. A., Richardson, M. A., Heeren, T. C., Cabral, H. J., & Rose-Jacobs, R. (2018). Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) correlations with prospective violence assessment in a longitudinal cohort. Psychological Assessment, 30(6), 841–845. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000549
Lynch, J. M., Klieve-Longman, J., McLindon, E., Cullen, P., Giles, F., & Hegarty, K. (2025). Coercive control: Recognising relational patterns that affect patient wellbeing. Australian Journal of General Practice. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31128/AJGP-02-25-7576
McCormack, L., Thomson, S. (2017) Complex trauma in childhood, a psychiatric diagnosis in adulthood: making meaning of a double-edged phenomenon. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 9, (2), 156- 165. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000193
Orellana, S. C., Bethlehem, R. A. I., Simpson-Kent, I. L., Vika, J., Whitaker, K., & Bullmore, E. T. (2024). Childhood maltreatment influences adult brain structure through its effects on immune, metabolic, and psychosocial factors. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(16), e2304704121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2304704121
Samaey, C., Van der Donck, S., Lecei, A. et al. (2024). Between faces: childhood adversity is associated with reduced threat-safety discrimination during facial expression processing in adolescence. BMC Med 22, 382 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-024-03610-w
Serebriakova, J., Forkmann, T., Teismann, T., Paashaus, L., Schreiber, D., Schönfelder, A., Juckel, G., & Glaesmer, H. (2025). Exploring the impact of child maltreatment on adult suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Journal of Affective Disorders, 375, 112–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.02.019
Thorvaldsdottir, K. B., Halldorsdottir, S., & Saint Arnault, D. M. (2021). Understanding and Measuring Help-Seeking Barriers among Intimate Partner Violence Survivors: Mixed-Methods Validation Study of the Icelandic Barriers to Help-Seeking for Trauma (BHS-TR) Scale. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(1), 104. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010104
Van der Kolk B. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. 2015. Penguin Books. 464 p. URL: https://ia601604.us.archive.org/35/items/the-body-keeps-the-score-pdf/The-Body-Keeps-the-Score-PDF.pdf
Xiao, Z., Obsuth, I., Meinck, F., & Murray, A. L. (2024). Relations between childhood psychological maltreatment and mental health dimensions within a higher-order model. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 24(1), 100416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2023.100416
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Bulletin of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. Psychology
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
