title: The psychometric properties of the korean version of the verbal abuse questionnaire in university students.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Korean Verbal Abuse Questionnaire (K-VAQ) that consists of 15 items related with life-time verbal aggression exposure.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 5814 university students who agreed to take part in the study completed the K-VAQ, the Korean version of the Life Event CheckList (LEC-K) and Impact of Event Scale-Revised (K-IES-R). Internal consistency was checked by using item-total item correlation and Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed, and convergent and concurrent validity levels were examined. Finally, a cluster analysis was conducted to verify the validity of the cutoff point of the K-VAQ.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Cronbach's alpha correlation coefficient was 0.9. The K-VAQ showed a single factor structure which explained 55.34% of the total variance. The K-VAQ was significantly associated with the LEC-K (r=0.24) and K-IES-R (r=0.28), indicating good convergent validity and concurrent validity. The cluster analysis provided four clusters of trauma experiences: high, moderate, low, and minimal, with K-VAQ ranges of 43-81, 20-42, 7-19, and 0-6, respectively. In a further investigation, a K-VAQ score of 40 was found to be the appropriate cutoff point to delineate the highly verbally abused group, as used in the previous studies. A sum of 36.5% of the highly verbally abused group reported to show substantial symptoms of PTSD (K-IES-R score >22).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present findings suggest that the K-VAQ has good psychometric properties for assessing verbal aggression among the Korean population.
authors: Laboratory of Clinical Neuroscience and Development, Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors: Bumseok
authors: B
authors: Jeong
authors: Laboratory of Clinical Neuroscience and Development, Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors: Sang Won
authors: SW
authors: Lee
authors: Laboratory of Clinical Neuroscience and Development, Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors: Jong-Sun
authors: JS
authors: Lee
authors: Laboratory of Clinical Neuroscience and Development, Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors: Jae Hyun
authors: JH
authors: Yoo
authors: Laboratory of Clinical Neuroscience and Development, Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors: Ko Woon
authors: KW
authors: Kim
authors: Laboratory of Clinical Neuroscience and Development, Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors: Sooyun
authors: S
authors: Cho
authors: Igonggam Psychiatric Clinic, Busan, Republic of Korea.
authors: Jee-Young
authors: JY
authors: Ahn
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Daejeon St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.
authors: Jeewook
authors: J
authors: Choi
keywords: Emotional trauma; Psychometric properties; Validity; Verbal abuse questionnaire