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Detecting Domestic Violence: Spanish External Validation of the Index of Spouse Abuse

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Abstract

The aims of the study were to assess the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Index of Spouse Abuse (ISA), and to validate it against external criteria of intimate partner violence. The Spanish version of the ISA was administered to 223 non-abused women and 182 victims of intimate partner violence. Internal consistency coefficients oscillated between 0.88 and 0.98. The Confirmatory Factor Analysis failed to replicate the original two-factor structure. Using Exploratory Factor Analysis, a two-factor solution was found: physical (ISA-P) and non-physical (ISA-NP), but the items included in each factor were slightly different from the original two subscales. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis revealed an AUC value for the ISA global score of 0.99 (95% CI: 0.98–0.99), with the optimal cut-off of 12 for detecting intimate partner violence. The Spanish version of the ISA is a valid instrument for detecting intimate partner violence in a female population.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to all the women who participated in the study. They also thank Luisa Melgarés, Mar Morollón, Núria Sensat and Fabiola Gil for their support in selecting the cases. The authors thank Vaheshta Sethna and Elena Dopino, for their linguistic in-put. This study has been supported in part by grant 022/20/2004 from the Agència d’Avaluació en Tecnologia i Recerca Mèdiques (AATRM), and by the Institut Català de la Dona (ICD) from the Catalonian government (Generalitat de Catalunya), Spain.

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Correspondence to Anna Torres.

Appendices

Appendix A: Spanish version of Index of Spouse Abuse

Este cuestionario ha sido diseñado para valorar aspectos negativos en el trato que Ud, recibe en su relación de pareja, No se trata de un examen, no hay respuestas verdaderas o falsas. Conteste cuidadosamente a cada afirmación marcando con una “X” la respuesta elegida:

Mi pareja:

Nunca

Raras veces

De vez en cuando

Frecuen-temente

Muy Frecuen-temente

1.

Me menosprecia

     

2.

Exige obediencia a sus caprichos

     

3.

Se pone de mal humor y se enfada si le digo que ha bebido demasiado

     

4.

Me obliga a tener relaciones sexuales que me desagradan

     

5.

Se enfada mucho si no tiene la comida, las tareas domésticas o la ropa lista cuando él quiere

     

6.

Es celoso y desconfía de mis amigos

     

7.

Me da puñetazos

     

8.

Me dice que soy fea y poco atractiva

     

9.

Me dice que no puedo apañarme o arreglarme sin él

     

10.

Se comporta como si yo fuera su sirvienta

     

11.

Me insulta y me avergüenza delante de los demás

     

12.

Se enfada mucho si no le doy la razón

     

13.

Me amenaza con un arma

     

14.

Es tacaño en darme dinero para la casa

     

15.

Me subestima intelectualmente

     

16.

Quiere que me quede en casa para cuidar a los hijos

     

17.

Me pega tan fuerte que tengo que ir a Urgencias

     

18.

Piensa que no debo trabajar o estudiar

     

19.

Es una persona poco amable

     

20.

Pone pegas a que me relacione con mis amigas

     

21.

Exige sexo sin importarle mi consentimiento

     

22.

Me grita y me insulta

     

23.

Me golpea en la cara y en la cabeza

     

24.

Se vuelve agresivo cuando bebe

     

25.

Siempre está mandándome

     

26.

Desprecia mis sentimientos

     

27.

Se comporta conmigo como un matón

     

28.

Me amenaza

     

29.

Me trata como si fuese una burra o imbécil

     

30.

Se comporta como si quisiera matarme

     

Appendix B: Scoring procedure

  1. a)

    ISA global score:

    1. 1-

      To compute a product score (P) by multiplying the item score (I) by the item weight (W): P = (I)(W)

    2. 2-

      To compute the minimum possible sum-score (MIN) by adding up all the item weights: MIN = ∑W

    3. 3-

      Computing the ISA global score (S): S = (∑P−MIN)(100)/[(MIN)(4)]

  2. b)

    ISA-P score:

    1. 1-

      To compute a product score (P) by multiplying each physical item score (I) by the item weight (W): P = (I)(W) (items 3,7,13,17,23,24,30)

    2. 2-

      Computing the ISA-P score: ISA-P = (∑P/576–1) * 25

  3. c)

    ISA-NP score:

    1. 1-

      To compute a product score (P) by multiplying each non-physical item score (I) by the item weight (W): P = (I)(W) (items 1,2,4,5,6,8,9,10,11,12,14,15,16,18–22, 25–29)

    2. 2-

      Computing the ISA-NP score: ISA-NP = (∑P/1241−1)*25

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Torres, A., Navarro, P., García-Esteve, L. et al. Detecting Domestic Violence: Spanish External Validation of the Index of Spouse Abuse. J Fam Viol 25, 275–286 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-009-9290-z

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