Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of ACE-IQ-27: A Shorter Version of Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ) in Bhutan

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are potentially traumatic events that occur during childhood and have been consistently linked to poor school engagement, academic performance, and a range of negative health, developmental, and social outcomes throughout the lifespan. This survey study among Bhutanese students aged 13 to 21 years aimed to assess the factor structure and psychometric properties of ACE-IQ-27, a shorter version of Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ). The ACE-IQ-27 was created by excluding war and collective violence items, which are uncommon in Bhutan. The study employed two samples, selected based on convenience sampling. Through exploratory factor analysis with 250 students, a 4-factor solution emerged (violence exposure, parental neglect, family adversity, and sexual assault). Collectively, the four factors explained approximately 39% of the total variance. This structure was subsequently validated through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with a separate 300 students. The result produced acceptable model fit indices: χ² (265, N  = 300) = 415.760, p  = 0.000, χ ²/ df  = 1.57, CFI = 0.947, TLI = 0.940, RMSEA = 0.038 (90% CI [0.029, 0.047], p  = 0.907), and SRMR = 0.078). Following the CFA, a series of psychometric analyses were conducted to evaluate its convergent validity, discriminant validity, and internal consistency reliability of the four factors. The findings suggest that the adapted ACE-IQ-27 is sufficiently reliable and valid tool for measuring ACEs and their association with risk behaviours in later life among school-going Bhutanese children aged 13–21 years. The adapted ACE-IQ-27 is also particularly well-suited for assessing childhood adversities in schools, clinics, or community settings in regions where trauma related to war and collective violence is relatively uncommon.