Making the Myths of Dating Violence Visible: Developing a New Scale and Testing Its Psychometrics Through Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Evidence

Abstract

Myths refer to misperceptions, overgeneralizations, or ideas that most people believe in but do not necessarily reflect the truth. To date, research on the myths surrounding dating violence (DV) has not received much attention, most probably due to the lack of a validated measure. Thus, we developed a standardized measure to gauge DV myths and test its psychometrics. The instrument’s design is based on three studies utilizing cross-sectional and longitudinal sets of data. In Study 1, in a sample of 259 emerging adults, predominantly college students, the explanatory factor analysis revealed a solid three-factor structure. In Study 2, in a separate sample of 330 emerging adults, primarily college students, we cross-validated the factor structure via confirmatory factor analysis. We also provided evidence for concurrent validity. In Study 3, we revealed that our newly developed scale had predictive validity among dating and non-dating emerging adults, mostly college students, via longitudinal data. Based on the findings from three studies, we can buoyantly announce that the Dating Violence Myths scale is a promising novel and standardized tool for measuring beliefs about DV. The cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence alludes to a need for DV myths to be debunked to reduce psychological DV attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors among emerging adults.