Comparison of the CADRI and CTS2 for Measuring Psychological and Physical Dating Violence Perpetration and Victimization

Abstract

Advancing dating violence (DV) research requires consistent conceptualization and measurement. However, empirical sudies on the measurement of psychological and physical DV perpetration and victimization are uncommon. There were three aims of the current study: (a) to examine the construct validity of psychological and physical DV perpetration and victimization on the Conflict in Adolescent Dating Relationships Inventory (CADRI) and Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2) using factor analysis; (b) to compare empirically derived DV scales with ones using face valid definitions of psychological and physical DV within each measure; and (c) to compare results obtained from the CADRI with those obtained from the CTS2. A diverse sample of undergraduates (N = 512; 63.9% female, 50.0% White, 16.2% Black, and 22.9% Latino) completed an online survey. There were two-factor solutions for each survey and DV perpetration and victimization: moderate psychological DV and severe psychological/physical DV on the CADRI; and moderate psychological and physical DV and severe psychological and physical DV on the CTS2. Multiple regression analyses showed that results were similar for empirically and rationally derived scoring methods with one exception: On the CTS2, risk factors associated with moderate DV were not the same as those associated with psychological DV. Moreover, the unique contribution of risk factors to each form of DV depended on which survey was used. In multivariate studies of risk factors associated with psychological and physical DV, the CADRI and CTS2 do not appear to be interchangeable, and may lead to different conclusions about the relative importance of risk factors.