Evaluating measures of LGBTQ+ intimate partner violence using consensus-based standards of validity

Evidence suggests that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus (LGBTQ+) people experience intimate partner violence (IPV) at similar or higher rates to their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. However, there are also indications that LGBTQ+ people may experience IPV in particular ways, which are not usually included in existing standardised measures of IPV.

A review of existing measures for capturing IPV in LGBTQ+ samples was conducted using the COnsensus-based Standards for selecting health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN). Four databases (PubMed, PsychINFO via Ebsco, Cinahl Complete via Ebsco and Web of Science) were systematically searched, to identify all articles that used psychometric measures to capture IPV in the LGBTQ+ community.

Forty-two articles describing twenty-two self-report measures were included. Few articles described a measure development process or assessed content validity. Although a significant proportion of measures were rated 'very good' for internal consistency, several received an 'inadequate' or 'doubtful' rating. All measures that had assessments of structural validity and measurement invariance were rated as 'very good'. However, invariance testing was absent from most studies. The quality of hypothesis testing varied across studies and all but one carried out reliability analyses.

Due to a lack of high-quality psychometric assessment, more evidence for the validity, reliability, or responsiveness of IPV measures for LGBTQ+ samples is needed. Further psychometric testing is needed to improve the assessment of IPV across contexts and to strengthen the robustness of findings in this field of research.