1. C. K. Smith, G. Gaither, P. Lin & A. M. Spurling
Psychometric Properties of a Modified Attitudes towards Dating Violence
C. K. Smith, G. Gaither, P. Lin & A. M. Spurling
Ball State University
Abstract
Results:
The current study examined whether male and female college students would report different attitudes, based on the sex of the perpetrator, using a modified version of the Attitudes Towards Dating Violence Survey (ATDV). Psychometrics of the newly developed scales were analyzed. Reliabilities for all scales were acceptable: all items (a = .913); male perpetrator (a = .857); female perpetrator (a = .861) There was a significant difference by sex of the perpetrator.
Method
Psychometric analyses revealed that the newly developed 27-item measure of attitudes towards dating violence had a high reliability (a = .913). Because there were only 3 ambiguous items, establishing reliability isn’t practical and should be considered accordingly (a = .319).
Results show that scores on the female perpetrator scale are higher (m = 17.8 ) than the male perpetrator scale (m = 16.8), suggesting more negative attitudes towards male-perpetrated dating violence; t(269) = -4.34, p < .001.
Further investigation reveals no significant differences in terms of gender when it comes to attitudes towards dating violence, whether it is male of female perpetrated.
In total, 262 college students (208 females) completed the ATDV portion of the survey, 53% were between18 and 19 years old, 94% were heterosexual, and 89% were Caucasian.
Participants were recruited through the university’s , without incentive.
The newly developed 27 item ATDV scale was placed among a number of other scales measuring different aspects of relationships and violence in dating situations.
The survey was completed online, anywhere the participant had access to the internet. Once the participant read the informed consent and agreed to the terms, they were allowed access to the survey , which had to be completed in one sitting, for an undefined amount of time. Once the survey was completed,
To interpret and analyze this data, reliability statistics were found and scores were compared to normative data.
Introduction
Often when measuring attitudes towards dating violence, the male is assumed to be the perpetrator, acting against a female victim. This gender bias could potentially impair the nature of what the test is measuring. Literature shows that men are as likely as women to be victims of dating violence (Jezl et al., 1996; Simonelli & Ingram, 1998).
Modifying the ATDV
Discussion
The Attitude Towards Dating Violence scale, developed by Price and Byers (1999), was originally developed to assess attitudes towards dating violence in the adolescent population. Like many other measures, the ATDV frames the questions to portray the male as being the perpetrator and the female
Fifteen items were chosen from the ATDV to measure acceptance of abuse in intimate relationships.
Modifications were made to create a total of 27 questions:
12 of the original questions already portrayed a male perpetrator and a female victim, those items were included in their unaltered form.
The same 12 questions were then reworded and framed so the female would instead be the perpetrator with a male victim.
The 3 remaining questions were altered so the perpetrator would be ambiguous or left alone because of their inability to be reframed.
Sample items include:
Men would not hit their girlfriends unless they did something to deserve it.
Women would not hit their boyfriends unless they did something to deserve it.
Society has no right to intervene in whether or not a man/a woman hits his girlfriend/her boyfriend.
Results: Tables
The selected items from the ATDV have high internal consistency when applied to both male and female perpetrators. The findings also align with the original findings from Price and Byers in that there was no significant difference between the scores on scales for male and female perpetrators. This could be due to differences in samples (college versus secondary school students).
Furthermore, a typological error created confusion for the interpretation of an item (she was type instead of he)
Further exploration should include an ambiguous gendered perpetrator and ambiguous gendered victim. This would allow for the incorporation of the measure to be used with the LGB community.
Results indicate that the items selected from the ATDV have high reliability for male (a = .857) and female perpetrators (a = .861).
References
Jezl, D. R., Molidor, C. E., & Wright, T. L. (1996). Physical, sexual and psychological abuse in high school dating relationships: Prevalence rates and self-esteem issues. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 13(1),
Price, E. L., Byers, E. S., Belliveau, N., Bonner, R., Caron, B., Doiron, D., ... & Moore, R. (1999). The attitudes towards dating violence scales: Development and initial validation. Journal of Family Violence, 14(4),
Simonelli, C. J., & Ingram, K. M. (1998). Psychological distress among men experiencing physical and emotional abuse in heterosexual dating relationships. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 13(6),