An Examination of the Partner Cyber Abuse Questionnaire in a College Student Sample

To examine the factor structure and convergent validity of a newly developed measure of an understudied form of partner abuse, cyber abuse, and to examine the prevalence of, and gender differences in, victimization by cyber abuse.

College students in a dating relationship (N = 502) completed the Partner Cyber Abuse Questionnaire (Hamby, 2013), as well as measures of partner abuse victimization and depression.

Using exploratory factor analysis, we determined a one-factor solution was the most statistically and conceptually best fitting model. The cyber abuse victimization factor was correlated with depressive symptoms and physical, psychological, and sexual partner abuse victimization, supporting the convergent validity of the measure. The overall prevalence of victimization by cyber abuse was 40%, with victimization by specific acts ranging from 2-31%. Men and women did not differ in their victimization by cyber abuse.

Cyber abuse is prevalent among college students and occurs concurrently with other partner abuse forms and depressive symptoms. Given the interrelated nature of partner abuse forms, prevention and intervention programs should address partner abuse occurring in-person and through technology. Cyber abuse should also be considered in the conceptualization and measurement of partner abuse to more fully understand this social problem.