Abstract
Background: Childhood maltreatment (CM) is a major risk factor for depression and suicidality. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) is a widely used retrospective tool for assessing CM, but its stability over time may be influenced by mood state.Objective: This study evaluates the temporal stability of CTQ responses over six months among individuals with a history of suicide attempt and the influence of mood state and suicidality on self-reported CM.Participants and setting: Participants were drawn from a multicenter cohort of 533 adult suicide attempters hospitalized in three French university hospitals. A subset of 164 participants who completed at least one CTQ dimension at baseline and six months were analyzed.Methods: Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Current suicidal ideation was evaluated via MADRS item 10. CTQ stability was analyzed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), Bland-Altman plots, and correlations with depression changes.Results: The total CTQ score showed excellent stability (ICC = 0.89, 95 % CI: [0.85-0.92]). Abuse subscales had high reliability (ICC > 0.84), while neglect subscales were less stable (ICC = 0.73 for emotional neglect, ICC = 0.65 for physical neglect). Variations in depressive symptoms weakly correlated with physical abuse scores (r = -0.18, p = 0.03). No significant effect of suicidal ideation was found.Conclusions: The CTQ is a stable measure of CM. However, neglect dimensions require cautious interpretation. These findings support the CTQ's use in both clinical and research settings within a trauma-informed care approach.