Beliefs Supporting Cyber Intimate Partner Violence: Scale Development and Preliminary Psychometrics

Abstract

There is limited research on risk and protective factors for cyber intimate partner violence (IPV), such as normative beliefs supporting cyber IPV. The purpose of this study was to develop a measure of normative beliefs supporting cyber IPV and to evaluate its psychometric properties. The initial item pool was developed from information gathered from focus groups, a thematic analysis of existing measures, and an expert review. The item pool was then administered to a sample of 259 emerging adults (Mage = 22 years;SD= 2.19, range = 18–25; 51% female) recruited via a Qualtrics panel. Based on an exploratory factor analysis, Horn’s Parallel Analysis, and goodness-of-fit indices, a single-factor structure was identified. Items related to monitoring cyber activity following a partner’s infidelity did not load well onto the model. A confirmatory factor analysis found strong support for a one-factor model. The Beliefs Supporting Cyber IPV scale was positively correlated with cyber IPV perpetration, in-person IPV perpetration, and beliefs supporting in-person IPV. Findings suggest that beliefs supporting cyber IPV is a distinct construct that can concurrently predict cyber IPV behaviors.