The Construction and Standardization of a Domestic Violence Questionnaire

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to standardize the self-reported domestic violence scale. 530 participants were randomly selected via clustered sampling methods from married students of The Islamic Azad University of district 8 in Iran. According to this scale, a total score was measured for domestic violence and also, based on exploratory factor analysis, 2 scores were measured for two dimensions of domestic violence, and these dimensions are: 1) Psycho-physical violence, 2) Control violence (sexual, economic, coercive violence). The reliability of this test was measured with internal consistency (α = 0.915) and the test retest method (r = 0.987). The criterion validity of this scale was significant and this scale had a significant relationship with the quality of marital life test. This scale can be used by psychologists and researchers for diagnostic assessment, intervening programs and identification of domestic violence dimensions.Keywords: Domestic Violence Scale; Psycho-Physical Violence; Control Violence; Standardization;Reliability; Validity IntroductionThe term "domestic violence" which is sometimes called family violence is an interpersonal violence including the aggressive behaviour and actions between family members and it may happen among couples, children, parents, old people, sisters and/or brothers (Hollin & Bloxsom, 2007). Violence towards an intimate partner (IPV) is a global phenomenon that happens in many areas of the world (Campbell, 2003). IPV is a pattern of behaviours with compulsion that may include physical harm, psychological abuse, sexual annoyance, prevention of social relationships with family and friends, isolating and confining the partner from any social relationships, prosecution, privation, humiliation or threat (Family Violence Prevention, 1999). Violence towards the spouse has destructive consequences on the family climate and children, and it often takes place in four forms:A. Physical violence towards the spouse includes actions such as an attack with a weapon, pushing, punching, slapping, kicking and throwing objects at the spouse; this can happen bilaterally between the couples.B. Psychological abuse in domestically relationships, also referred to as emotional abuse, is characterized by several dimensions. These dimensions include threatening behavior: implicit or explicit, denigrating damage or under-mining a victim's self image or self esteem, passive aggressive withholding of emotional support and nurturance, restricting personal territory and freedom (Mariuro, 2001). The psychological abuse often does not occur clearly and it may have longitudinal and disruptive effects on victims.C. Sexual violence includes the unexpected sexual relationship such as hard or unusual and harsh sexual behaviours, forced sexual activities and the pressure to have sex.D. Financial or economic violence includes behaviour such as maintaining control over finance, creating a barrier to spending money, withholding access to money, making the victim financially dependent, not allowing the vi...

The effect of family-based counseling on domestic violence in pregnant women referring to health centers in Sahneh city, Iran, 2018

“…Data collection was conducted using the questionnaire of domestic violence against women of Mohseni Tabrizi et al prepared and standardized using reliable sources, and synchronized with the social and cultural conditions of Iran [ 21 ]. Abolmaali in 2014 used this questionnaire in preparing and constructing a standard questionnaire on domestic violence [ 22 ]. The use of this questionnaire in Iran to assess domestic violence has been accepted and used in many studies [ 23 , 24 ].…”