Intimate partner violence screening intention instrument for Thai nursing students: A principal component analysis

Identifying factors related to intimate partner violence (IPV) screening intentions of future nurses is critical, but no studies specific to this research area exist in Thailand; nor does any validated instrument currently exist to systematically evaluate Thai nursing students' IPV training or measure their readiness to address IPV. The purpose of this study was to develop the Intimate Partner Violence Screening Intention, Nursing Students (IPVSI-NS) for Thai nursing students and identify components explaining their intentions to screen for intimate partner violence (IPV).

We designed a Thai-language, culturally appropriate 36-item instrument based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), which describes intentions as the precursors of actual behaviour. We then conducted an anonymous cross-sectional online survey of female senior Thai nursing students (N = 594). Principal component analysis with varimax methods was used to examine the component structure of the instrument. The internal consistency reliability and convergent construct validity were evaluated. See Supporting File S1.

A six-component structure was evident which explained 59.56% of variance and identified: attitudes (advantages and disadvantages of screening), subjective norms (support from important people, and opinions of important people and policy) and perceived behavioural control (training experience, teamwork, facility resources and screening barriers).

The IPVSI-NS, based on the TPB, provides a psychometrically sound, reliable and valid tool for Thai nursing educators and researchers to advance nursing education, practice and research regarding IPV.

Provides support for the components of the TPB (attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control) as an excellent fit to predict intention of IPV screening for future clinical nurses. Implications for future research and educational practice are discussed.