Factorial Validity, Reliability, Measurement Invariance and the Graded Response Model for the COVID-19 Anxiety Scale in a Sample of Ecuadorians.

The aims of the research are to evaluate the factorial validity, internal consistency, measurement invariance, discrimination, and difficulty of the Covid-19 Anxiety Scale (CAS) applied to a sample of Ecuadorian adults (N = 451). The study is based on an instrumental design with Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT) technics. The results confirmed the validity of the CAS single-factor structure, with measurement invariance across gender and high internal consistency. Additionally, all CAS items displayed adequate discrimination indexes and proper ordering of the difficulty thresholds. In a conclusion, the CAS is a valid measurement scale for Ecuadorian adults.

Prevalence of child maltreatment in Ecuador using the ICAST-R.

OBJECTIVES: While the link between childhood experiences of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and mental health problems has been largely studied, there is limited information regarding the prevalence of child maltreatment in developing countries, particularly in South America. The present study is an effort to investigate the prevalence of child maltreatment in Ecuador using the ISPCAN Child Abuse Screening Tool Retrospective version (ICAST-R). METHOD: A student sample (males = 1579; females = 1554) from the seven largest universities in Quito, Ecuador, completed the ICAST-R. RESULTS: Our findings indicate that 69.6 % of participants experienced child maltreatment. Physical abuse was reported by 47.6 % of respondents; this commonly involved being beaten by parents. Emotional maltreatment was reported by 53 % of the participants; mostly through insults by same-sex peers and parents. Sexual abuse was reported by 15.5 % of the participants. The most prevalent forms of sexual abuse included being coerced into touching another person's genitals, having their genitals touched by others, or having someone expose their genitals to them. Sexual abuse was more prevalent amongst females (males = 12.9 %; females = 18.1 %, OR = 1.49; CI = 1.22-1.81), and physical abuse was more prevalent amongst males (males = 50.5 %; females = 44.6 %, OR = 0.79; CI = 0.69-0.91). CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows evidence of a high prevalence of child maltreatment in Ecuador. We also identify significant gender differences in the type of abuse experienced, and in the context in which this abuse takes place. These results are important given the negative consequences of child maltreatment. More research applying ICAST to different populations is recommended to further validate the present findings and facilitate international comparisons.