Developing an Index to Measure Violence Against Women for Comparative Studies Between Mexico and the United States (original) (raw)
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Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de santé publique
To identify factors associated with the severity of intimate partner abuse (IPA) in Mexico. Data were gathered from the National Survey of Violence Against Women (November 2002-November 2003), a nationwide study in which 18,902 women over the age of 14 participated. Subjects were recipients of national public health care services. The severity of IPA was measured using a 27-item scale. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were performed to explore significant factors associated with partner violence. One in four participants reported experiencing IPA. This model showed that younger and less educated women had a higher risk of IPA. Working out of the home (OR [odds ratio] 1.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.99-1.72), two or more children in the household (OR 1.44, CI 1.18-1.77), alcohol consumption (OR 2.51, CI 1.63-3.90) and history of childhood abuse (OR 3.7, CI 3.03-4.52) increased the possibility of severe violence. The most important predictor of severe IPA was the partner&#...
Violence Against Women, 2012
We employ two surveys to identify similarities and differences in the risk of abuse among poor urban Mexican-origin women in the United States and Mexico. While the two surveys reveal basic structural similarity in the predictors of partner violence, the rate of violence among Mexican women is far lower than among either foreign-born or nativeborn Mexican origin women in the United States. While these differences may reflect reality, we argue that survey data must be interpreted cautiously and with an understanding of the cultural, economic, and political context in which the information is collected as well as methodological differences between the surveys.
No More! Women Reporting Intimate Partner Violence in Mexico
Journal of Family Violence, 2014
An analysis of the National Survey of Violence Against Women (2006) in Mexico was performed to estimate the prevalence and the associated factors of women suffering intimate partner violence (IPV) that report their aggressor by severity of violence. Women aged 15 years or older who reported IPV were analyzed by using logistic regression models. Prevalence of IPV was 33.33 %, 64.11 % of them were classified as non-severe violence (NSV) and 35.89 % as severe violence (SV). Women with SV reported the aggressor more often (24.69 % vs. 6.08 % of NSV). Variables associated with reporting the aggressor for both NSV and SV were having children living in the household, higher socioeconomic status, frequent alcohol consumption by the partner, and health personnel informing women that they were experiencing IPV. We can conclude that a low percentage of women reported IPV. Greater efforts should be made to empower women so they can effectively execute their right to live a life free of violence.
Detecting Domestic Violence: Spanish External Validation of the Index of Spouse Abuse
Journal of Family Violence, 2009
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 nonphysical (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 cutoff 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.
Validity of the WHO VAW study instrument for estimating gender-based violence against women
Revista de saúde pública, 2010
To validate the instrument of the World Health Organization Violence Against Women (WHO VAW) study on psychological, physical and sexual violence against women perpetrated by intimate partners. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in several countries between 2000 and 2003, including Brazil. Representative random samples of women aged 15-49 years with intimate partners were selected, living in the city of São Paulo (n = 940) and in the Zona da Mata, Pernambuco (n = 1,188), southeastern and northeastern regions, respectively. Exploratory factor analysis on questions relating to violence was performed (four psychological, six physical and three sexual questions), with varimax rotation and creation of three factors. Cronbach's alpha was calculated to analyze the internal consistency. To validate through extreme groups, mean scores (0 to 13 points) for violence were tested in relation to the following outcomes: self-rated health, daily activities, presence of discomfort or pai...
Prevalence and determinants of male partner violence against Mexican women: a population-based study
Objective: To determinate the prevalence of and risk factors violence against women, inflicted by their male partners, in a representative sample of women residing in the metropolitan area of Cuernavaca Morelos, Mexico. Material and Methods: A population-based study was conducted from June to September 1998, among 1 535 women aged 15 to 49 years. Principal components analysis was used to determine the domains of violence that served as the dependent variable. Polynomial logistic regression models were used to estimate odds rations (OR) with 95% confidence intervalls (CI) Results: Prevalence of low-moderate level violence was 35.8%, while prevalence of severe violence was 9.5%. The lifetime prevalence reported rape was 5.9%. The main factors associated with violence wew socio-economics status (OR=0.57; 9.5% CI= 0.34- 0.95); education level, both of the women studied (test for trend=0.01) and of the male partner (test for trend=0.002); number of years living with partner (OR=2.63, 95% CI=1.55-4.45), alcohol use (OR=2.56, 95% CI=2.02-3.25) illegal drug use by partner (OR=6.17, 95% CI=2.37-16.03); violence during childhood (OR=3.40, CI=2.23-5.18), and history of rape (OR=5.89%, 95% CI=2.78-12.5) Conclusions: Study findings confirm that violence against women is a prevalent phenomenon in Mexico. Awareness-raising campaigns about male partner violence should bring this important issue to the front of public discussion. Such effort will help assure that future generations do not experience partner violence to the extent tant contemporary Mexican women do.
Psychology of Violence, 2024
Objective: Attitudes justifying intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) contribute to its persistence, and cross-national research on these attitudes can provide a window into the normative context of IPVAW and a key indicator to monitor global progress in preventing IPVAW. Monitoring cross-national attitudes about IPVAW requires psychometrically comparable cross-national data. Hence, assessing the measurement invariance of available attitudinal items is key to make unbiased comparisons. Method: This study draws on data from 126,858 women 15 to 49 years who participated in UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) in 12 Latin-American and Caribbean (LAC) countries between 2013-2020. We use exact and approximate invariance methods to assess the crosscountry measurement invariance of five items designed to measure attitudes justifying IPVAW. Results: Items were approximately invariant across included countries. Attitudinal scores derived from the alignment optimization (approximate invariance) model rank the countries in four blocks based on paired comparisons of latent mean attitudes. In relative terms, women in Guyana had the highest levels of IPVAW justification, and women in Costa Rica, Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Cuba had the lowest levels of IPVAW justification. Conclusions: This study confirms that MICS items to measure IPVAW attitudes are approximately invariant in national samples of reproductive-age women in 12 LAC countries. The analysis shows the appropriate analytical steps to assess and to ensure cross-national comparability of these items, and represents an important first step in efforts to monitor global progress in preventing IPVAW with robust survey measures of attitudes justifying this type of violence.
Violence and Victims, 2005
There have been many studies on the impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) on women's health, there being agreement on its detrimental effect. Research has focused mainly on the impact of physical violence on health, with few studies assessing the effect of sexual and psychological violence. Furthermore, there are many differences in the way violence experienced by women is assessed. While some researchers use available instruments, others develop their own questionnaires. This article gives detailed information about physical, sexual, and psychological violence, lifetime history of women's victimization, and aspects of women's behavior and feelings obtained with the questionnaire used in a Spanish crosssectional study. Our results corroborate that IPV is not homogeneous, it being necessary to ask women about each type of violence they have experienced. Furthermore, to accurately assess the impact of IPV on women's health, it is necessary to control for other variables that also have detrimental effects on health.
Validation of a reduced Spanish version of the Index of Spouse Abuse
International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 2011
With the purpose of examining the reliability and validity of the Spanish version of the Index of Spouse Abuse (ISA), this scale was applied to 813 Peruvian women, along with the Double Standard Scale, the Rape Supportive Attitude Scale, and the Symptom Checklist-90 Revised (SLC-90-R). Participants were distributed into three different samples: women in the general population (n = 300), women who had not reported abuse (n = 300) and women who had reported abuse (n = 213). After testing seven different factor structures of the ISA through con¿ rmatory factor analysis, this instrumental study proposes a 19-item abbreviated version clustered into two subscales (Nonphysical abuse and Physical abuse) with excellent indices of internal consistency reliability (.93 and .89, respectively). Scores on both subscales showed signi¿ cant positive correlations with the double standard scale, rape supportive attitudes, and psychopathological dimensions of the SCL90-R. Likewise, scores on the ISA showed that women with a lower educational level and less skilled jobs are subject to more partner abuse. Cut-off point scores for detecting both physical and nonphysical partner abuse are proposed. 364 SIERRA et al. Reduced Spanish version of the Index Of Spouse Abuse RESUMEN. Con el objetivo de examinar la ¿ abilidad y validez de la versión en español del Index of Spouse Abuse (ISA), se aplicó éste, junto a la Double Standard Scale, la Rape Supportive Attitude Scale y el Cuestionario de 90 Síntomas SCL-90-R, a 813 mujeres peruanas distribuidas en tres muestras diferentes: población general (n = 300), mujeres que no habían denunciado abuso (n = 300) y mujeres que habían denunciado abuso (n = 213). Después de poner a prueba mediante análisis factorial con¿ rmatorio siete estructuras factoriales distintas del ISA, este estudio instrumental propone una versión reducida de 19 ítems agrupados en dos subescalas (Abuso no físico y Abuso físico), que obtienen excelentes coe¿ cientes de ¿ abilidad de consistencia interna (0,93 y 0,89, respectivamente). La puntuación de ambas subescalas correlaciona en sentido positivo con doble moral sexual, actitud favorable hacia la violación y las dimensiones psicopatológicas del SCL-90-R. Asimismo, las puntuaciones en el ISA ponen de mani¿ esto que las mujeres con menor nivel cultural y ocupaciones laborales menos cuali¿ cadas sufren más abuso dentro de la pareja. Se proponen puntos de corte en las puntuaciones para detectar tanto el abuso no físico, como el físico en el contexto de las relaciones de pareja.