Measuring Japanese mothers' perception of child abuse: development of a Japanese version of the child abuse blame scale – physical abuse (CABS-PA-J)

BACKGROUND: The Child Abuse Blame Scale – Physical Abuse (CABS-PA) was translated into Japanese and its subscale items modified by the authors according to the Japanese cultural context. The aim of the current study was to investigate the appropriateness, reliability, and clinical applicability of the CABS-PA Japanese version (CABS-PA-J). Modifications were made to enable the determination of child abuse recognition in a Japanese cultural setting and early clinical intervention in child abuse cases. METHODS: The CABS-PA text was translated into Japanese, then back translated. The appropriateness of scale item translations was verified based on e-mail discussions with the original CABS-PA author. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed to examine the validity of CABS-PA-J responses and to confirm the validity of factor structure. Criterion-related validity was also confirmed. The Japanese scale was used to examine the characteristic differences between mothers of premature infants (< 1500 g) and those of other infants (≧ 1500 g). RESULTS: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses found the factor structure to be similar between the original scale and the translated CABS-PA-J, suggesting adequate factor validity. There was a statistically significant correlation between social support from a spouse or third party and the abuse score on a subscale, partially demonstrating criterion-referenced validity. Similarities and differences were found in the stress reactions of the mothers of premature infants (< 1500 g) and those of other infants (≧ 1500 g). CONCLUSION: CABS-PA-J was shown to be appropriate and reliable. It is an effective tool for determining the recognition of child abuse among Japanese mothers.