Unveiling hidden dimensions: A novel bifactor approach to unraveling adverse childhood experiences.

Background: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are associated with diverse negative health outcomes and are commonly screened for in primary care, research, and clinical practice. However, more research is needed surrounding the conceptualization, measurement, and application of ACEs measures.

Objective: This study examines the bifactor structure and internal reliability of a short, practical, and commonly used ACEs questionnaire and assesses how the factor structure is associated with correlates of ACEs.