Adaptation and psychometrical assessment of the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire self-report for Children and Early Adolescents (JVQ-CEA)

Abstract

Background: Evidence shows that asking children about their lives is possible and uniquely valuable, and there are international agreements on children’s right to participation. However, research on child victimization has traditionally relied on proxy informants or retrospective questionnaires. Instruments for asking children about their experiences are administered as interviews, do not report psychometric properties and target children over 11 years old (y.o.). Objective: This study presents an adaptation of the world’s most robust, comprehensive, and widely used instrument for measuring violence against children, the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ) (Finkelhor, Ormrod, et al., 2005), in a self-report version for children between 8 and 12 y.o. Methods: A first version was proposed based on methodological recommendations. We gathered evidence of validity and reliability in three phases: an expert review (n = 38), cognitive interviews and focus groups with children (n = 25), and a pilot test with children (n = 782). Results: The results and participants’ suggestions led to a 15-item version assessing five modules (electronic victimization, sexual victimization, peer and sibling victimization, caregiver victimization, and exposure to violence). This version demonstrated adequate psychometric properties in terms of validity (e.g., correlations in the expected direction and magnitude) and reliability (e.g., connectedness among items). Children’s participation was key to ensure comprehensiveness and no major distress. Conclusions: This version of the JVQ for Children and Early Adolescents (JVQ-CEA) allows the voices of children between 8 and 12 y.o. to be included in child victimization research, in accordance with international agreements on children’s right to participation.