Differentiating compliance and verbal coercion: A mixed methods content validity study.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Sociology
• Criminology

Background:

• Verbal coercion is a form of sexual violence with significant psychological and physical consequences.
• Cognitive interviewing is a qualitative method to understand participant perceptions of survey items.
• Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a critical area of public health research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the content validity of the item 'my partner insisted on sex' from the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales.
• To assess whether participants perceive this item as coercive or consensual.
• To contribute to the accurate measurement of intimate partner violence.

Main Methods:

• Utilized cognitive interviewing with 39 college students.
• Qualitatively coded participant responses to identify emergent themes.
• Quantitatively rated the perceived consent level of the 'insisted on sex' item.

Main Results:

• The most frequent theme was verbal coercion (37.80%), followed by consent (30.49%).
• Participants predominantly interpreted 'partner insisted on sex' as a verbally coercive tactic.
• The item was rated as significantly non-consensual (M = 1.946, SD = 1.70).

Conclusions:

• The item 'my partner insisted on sex' demonstrates content validity as a measure of coercive behavior.
• Findings suggest the item accurately captures perceptions of non-consensual sexual insistence within intimate relationships.
• This research aids in refining measures of intimate partner violence and understanding sexual coercion.