Systematic review and critical appraisal of instruments that measure children and adolescent protectors and family strengths against child maltreatment

Protective factors considered in this systematic review are characteristics of a child, family, or relationships within the family that decrease the probability of child maltreatment or abuse and can moderate or diminish negative outcomes associated with risk factors. The aim of this study is to critically appraise, compare, and summarize the methodological quality and psychometric properties of published research articles validating protective factor instruments related to children and adolescent characteristics and family strengths. A systematic search in ProQuest, Scopus, and Web of Science was performed using the Consensus based Standards for the selection of health status Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) risk of bias checklist. The constructs measured were diverse, with some patterns in validation of instrument where studies mainly focus on examining structural validity and internal consistency while other properties were less frequently examined. Results suggest that the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (ERQ-CA) and the Protective Factors Survey (PFS) have the strongest psychometric evidence, followed by the Child and Adolescent Social Adaptive Functioning Scale (CASAFS), the Children's Emotional Adjustment Scale (CEAS), and the Parental Alliance Inventory (PAI). This study provides relevant information on the available psychometric properties of some protective factor instruments validated from 2010 to 2021, which may be useful for researchers in selecting appropriate instruments and identifying gaps in knowledge.