Development of the Intimate Partner Violence Attitude Scales (IPVAS) With a Predominantly Mexican American College Sample

Abstract

Although instruments that estimate the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) are available, few include potential predictors of violent behaviors such as beliefs and attitudes. The main purpose of this study was to develop a measure of attitudes toward various forms of IPV. The secondary purpose was to examine Mexican American and non-Hispanic White college students’ attitudes toward IPV. Data from a sample of 333 predominantly Mexican American (65%) college students were used to determine reliability and factor structure of the final 23-item scale. Principal factor analysis revealed three factors—Abuse, Control, and Physical Violence—with Cronbach alphas of .81, .69, and .70, respectively. The three subscales were positively intercorrelated, at levels that suggest good convergent and discriminate validity. The findings support the possible utility of the scales for predicting IPV. The study did not find significant differences in Mexican American and non-Hispanic White college students’ attitudes toward IPV.