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The Dominance Scale: preliminary psychometric properties

S L Hamby1

  • 1Family Research Laboratory, University of New Hampshire, USA.

Violence and Victims
|October 1, 1996
PubMed
Summary

Dominance is linked to intimate partner violence, but results vary. A new Dominance Scale differentiates forms of dominance, finding restrictiveness most associated with partner violence.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Criminology
  • Sociology

Background:

  • Dominance is a cited risk factor for intimate partner violence (IPV).
  • Empirical evidence linking dominance to IPV has yielded inconsistent findings.
  • Existing measures may not adequately capture the multifaceted nature of dominance.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce and validate a new "Dominance Scale" measuring three distinct forms: Authority, Restrictiveness, and Disparagement.
  • To examine the psychometric properties of the Dominance Scale.
  • To investigate the differential associations of dominance forms with partner violence indicators.

Main Methods:

  • Development and preliminary validation of the Dominance Scale.
  • Administered the scale to 131 undergraduate students.
  • Correlated Dominance Scale scores with measures of decision-making power, social desirability, and partner violence (psychological aggression, physical assault, injury).

Main Results:

  • The Dominance Scale demonstrated good distributions and internal consistency.
  • Authority was strongly associated with decision-making power and social desirability.
  • Restrictiveness showed the strongest association with various forms of partner violence, including psychological aggression, physical assault, and injury.

Conclusions:

  • The reconceptualization and measurement of dominance into distinct forms (Authority, Restrictiveness, Disparagement) offer a more nuanced understanding of IPV risk.
  • Restrictiveness, specifically, emerges as a key construct linked to partner violence.
  • These findings may help reconcile mixed results in prior research on dominance and IPV.

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