Validation of the Assault (Violence) Response Scale: An Update

Abstract

Background and PurposeThe Assault (Violence) Response Questionnaire has been used widely in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Africa since the 1980s. The purpose is to update the ARQ.MethodSpecifically the ARQ-R has been expanded to include verbal assault and withholding information, more extensively tested for reliability and validity, and shortened.ResultsThe scale was reduced from 88 to 33 items and yet had the same high reliability and validity as did the larger scale.ConclusionsThe reduction in size makes it much less time consuming to complete, making it an instrument that very busy nurses can more easily use. The ARQ-R can be used for nurses measuring assault in both hospital and community settings.