Development and Initial Validation of Three Culturally Sensitive Measures of Intimate Partner Violence for Sexual and Gender Minority Populations

Abstract

Measures of intimate partner violence (IPV) have largely been developed and validated in heterosexual, cisgender samples, with little attention to whether these measures are culturally appropriate for sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations. However, rates of IPV are two to three times higher among SGM than heterosexual populations, highlighting the importance of culturally appropriate measures of IPV for SGM populations. In this article, after reviewing key problems with the use of existing IPV measures with SGM samples, we describe the development of a toolkit of new and adapted measures of IPV for use with SGM assigned female at birth (SGM-AFAB) populations, including an adapted version of the Conflict Tactics Scale–Revised, an adapted measure of coercive control, and the newly developed SGM-Specific IPV Tactics Measure. Using data from a sample of 352 SGM-AFAB individuals, we then test the psychometric properties of these three measures, including their factor structures, internal reliability, and convergent/divergent validity. Results provide initial evidence of the reliability and validity of each measure. Together, these three measures comprise a culturally appropriate and psychometrically validated measurement toolkit for studying a broad range of IPV tactics among SGM-AFAB that will help build a foundation for more in-depth research into IPV in SGM populations.