The QUIC-SP: A Spanish Language Tool Assessing Unpredictability in Early Life is Linked to Physical and Mental Health

Overview

Journal PLoS One

Date 2025 Jan 24

PMID 39854568

Authors

Sabrina R Liu

Natasha A Bailey

Sara Romero-Gonzalez

Amy Moors

Belinda Campos

Elysia Poggi Davis

Laura M Glynn

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Accumulating evidence indicates that unpredictable signals in early life represent a unique form of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) associated with disrupted neurodevelopmental trajectories in children and adolescents. The Questionnaire of Unpredictability in Childhood (QUIC) was developed to assess early life unpredictability [1], encompassing social, emotional, and physical unpredictability in a child's environment, and has been validated in three independent cohorts. However, the importance of identifying ACEs in diverse populations, including non-English speaking groups, necessitates translation of the QUIC. The current study aims to translate and validate a Spanish language version of the QUIC (QUIC-SP) and assess its associations with mental and physical health. Spanish-speaking participants (N = 285) were recruited via the online market crowdsourcing platform, Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), and completed an online survey that included the QUIC-SP and validated Spanish language assessments of physical and mental health. The QUIC-SP demonstrated excellent psychometric properties and similar mean scores, endorsement rates, and internal reliability to the English language version, thus establishing its validity among Spanish-speaking adults. Higher QUIC-SP scores, indicating greater unpredictability in early life, predicted increased symptoms of anxiety, anhedonia, depression, and poorer physical health. Given significant racial and ethnic disparities in health, the QUIC-SP may serve as a valuable tool to address the public health consequences of ACEs among Spanish-speaking populations.

Citing Articles

Sex-Specific Effects of Early Life Unpredictability on Hippocampal and Amygdala Responses to Novelty in Adolescents.

Davis E, Leonard B, Jirsaraie R, Keator D, Small S, Sandman C bioRxiv. 2024; .

PMID: 39345394 PMC: 11429980. DOI: 10.1101/2024.09.20.614130.

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