Psychometric Properties of the Coercion in Intimate Partner Relationships Scale

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Criminology
• Sociology

Background:

• Coercive control involves systematic demands, threats, and surveillance to dominate a partner.
• Existing measures may lack content validity by not encompassing all coercive behaviors.
• The Coercion in Intimate Partner Relationships (CIPR) scale aims to address these limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the validity and reliability of the CIPR scale, specifically its Demand, Threat, Surveillance, and Response to Demands subscales.
• To assess the construct validity (concurrent, convergent, discriminant) of the CIPR subscales.
• To examine the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the CIPR.

Main Methods:

• 541 participants completed online surveys assessing coercive control, intimate partner violence, depression, and PTSD.
• Confirmatory factor analyses, linear regressions, and correlational analyses were employed.
• Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were also evaluated.

Main Results:

• The study provides evidence supporting the validity and reliability of the CIPR scale.
• The subscales demonstrated adequate psychometric properties for measuring coercive control.
• Results confirm the CIPR's utility in assessing various facets of coercive control.

Conclusions:

• The CIPR scale is a valid and reliable instrument for research and clinical practice.
• Findings support the use of the CIPR for understanding coercive control dynamics in relationships.
• The study emphasizes transparent reporting of methodology, including sample size determination and data exclusions.