Measuring battering: development of the Women's Experience with Battering (WEB) Scale

Area of Science:

• Sociology
• Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Traditional measures of domestic violence focus on physical acts, neglecting the chronic vulnerability and gendered nature of battered women's experiences.
• Existing instruments may obscure the continuous nature of battering and its relationship to women's lived experiences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a scale that operationalizes battered women's experiences of violence, emphasizing their subjective meanings and the enduring presence of battering.
• To create a concise and reliable measure for research on battering and its health consequences.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative data from focus groups with 22 battered women were used to develop initial scale items.
• A known-groups survey with 185 battered and 204 non-battered women was conducted to refine scale items.
• Factor analysis identified a strong single-factor solution for the final 10-item scale.

Main Results:

• The 10-item Women's Experiences with Battering (WEB) Scale demonstrated high internal consistency reliability.
• The WEB Scale was significantly correlated with known-group status (battered vs. non-battered) and showed good construct validity.
• The scale was not significantly correlated with social desirability measures, indicating it accurately captures experiences.

Conclusions:

• The WEB Scale provides a valid and concise instrument for researchers to study the relationship between battering and health outcomes.
• This scale can be used to evaluate the impact of interventions aimed at supporting battered women.
• The WEB Scale offers a more comprehensive understanding of domestic violence by focusing on women's experiences.