title: Assessment of the quality of the childhood physical abuse measure in the National Population Health Survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The long-term health consequences of childhood physical abuse are often studied using retrospective self-reports collected from adults. This study assesses the quality of a question on childhood physical abuse in the National Population Health Survey (NPHS).
  
  
  METHODS
  All NPHS respondents aged 18 or older (n = 15,027) were asked a question about childhood physical abuse in cycles 1 (1994/1995), 7 (2006/2007) and 8 (2008/2009). The reliability of this question was assessed over these periods. Associations between response patterns to the abuse item and health conditions that are related to childhood physical abuse were examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Across all NPHS cycles, very few respondents refused to answer or replied "don't know" to the item on childhood physical abuse. Reliability, as measured by Cohen's kappa statistic, was "substantial" for the two-year interval between cycles 7 and 8, and "moderate" for the 12- and 14-year intervals from cycle 1. Kappa estimates were similar when examined by various demographic factors. Compared with consistent deniers, respondents who consistently affirmed childhood physical abuse and those who provided inconsistent responses had increased odds of depression, fair or poor self-perceived health, disability, migraine, and heart disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite some limitations, the NPHS question on childhood physical abuse allows researchers to investigate long-term health consequences of abuse.
authors.affiliation: Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
authors.forename: Margot
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shields
authors.affiliation: Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hovdestad
authors.affiliation: Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
authors.forename: Lil
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tonmyr
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054523:Adult Survivors of Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Child abuse; child maltreatment; reliability; retrospective recall; validity