Speakers
Abstract
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pressing international issue affecting at least 27% of women and girls. However, accurate global assessment of IPV prevalence is limited by a lack of consensus around the domains of IPV and sparse evidence on cross-country comparability. We aimed to assess the measurement structure and regional invariance of IPV scales in large, population-based surveys using the same standard item sets to measure physical, sexual, and emotional IPV, as well as controlling behaviors. Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), we tested unidimensional, multifactorial, hierarchical, bifactor, and bifactor S-1 models for lifetime and past year IPV across 46 lower-and- middle-income countries. We then assessed the invariance of the best-fitting model across countries within the same world region using multiple-group CFA. Although other models showed good fit in most countries, bifactor and bifactor S-1 models had the best fit across all countries and showed strong or strict invariance within most regions. Most bifactor models, especially without controlling behaviors, were primarily unidimensional; IPV can therefore be conceptualized as a single construct with nuanced facets. Researchers seeking to model IPV should consider the bifactor/bifactor S-1 model, unidimensional model, or simple summative measures incorporating physical, sexual and emotional domains. In alignment with prior research, controlling behaviors should be modeled separately to avoid parameter bias. Finally, the interrelated nature of physical and emotional IPV underscores the need to incorporate emotional IPV into global monitoring and reporting structures
| Oral presentation | Measurement structure and invariance of intimate partner violence against women in lower- and middle-income countries |
|---|---|
| Author | Irina Bergenfeld |
| Affiliation | Emory University |
| Keywords | IPV; LMICs; measurement invariance; global |
