Perpetration in Dating Relationships Scale

Abstract

The Perpetration in Dating Relationships Scale (PDRS) is a comprehensive, 30-item psychological scale designed to measure the frequency and severity of self-reported aggressive behaviors initiated by an individual toward a dating partner. Developed by researchers associated with the University of Michigan and the Safe Dates Project, the PDRS provides a crucial assessment of perpetration across three domains: physical, sexual, and psychological aggression within intimate youth relationships. It functions as a vital tool in public health and academic research, specifically focusing on the prevalence of dating violence and its correlation with various factors among adolescent populations, including mental health status and relationship satisfaction.

Keywords

Dating violence, Perpetration, Aggression, Physical abuse, Psychological measurement, Youth studies, Relationship satisfaction, Adolescent dating, Intimate partner violence, Self-report measure.

Authors

Foshee VA, Linder F, Bauman KE, et al. (Associated with the Safe Dates Project)

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Perpetration in Dating Relationships Scale (PDRS) is to quantify the extent to which an individual initiates aggressive acts against their dating partner. This measurement provides researchers with a critical metric for identifying the overall level of violence perpetration specifically within intimate adolescent contexts.

The scale offers a standardized and structured methodology for researchers and public health officials to accurately assess the prevalence of various forms of aggression—including physical, sexual, and psychological dimensions—in dating relationships. The data derived from the PDRS is fundamental for supporting the development, refinement, and evaluation of evidence-based violence prevention programs, such as the widely recognized Safe Dates Project.

Construct

The PDRS measures the core psychological construct of Aggressive Perpetration in Dating Relationships. This construct is precisely defined as the initiation of harmful, coercive, or controlling acts directed toward a dating partner, with the explicit caveat that acts committed purely in self-defense must be excluded from reporting.

The scale is inherently multidimensional, ensuring comprehensive coverage of aggressive behavior through three distinct and measurable domains:

• Physical Aggression: Items covering direct physical violence, such as hitting, pushing, choking, or slapping.
• Sexual Aggression: Items related to coercing or forcing unwanted sexual activity or contact.
• Psychological Aggression: Items addressing verbal abuse and controlling behaviors, including name-calling, issuing threats, or excessive control over a partner’s actions.

Validity

The Perpetration in Dating Relationships Scale has been established as a robust and valid instrument for accurately measuring aggressive perpetration in dating relationships. Validation studies, often conducted within the framework of large-scale intervention research projects, consistently confirm that the scale accurately reflects the intended construct of aggressive initiation, successfully differentiating between adolescents who perpetrate violence and those who do not.

The scale demonstrates strong content validity, supported by the comprehensive breadth of aggressive behaviors covered across the physical, sexual, and psychological domains. This range of items aligns closely with established and clinical definitions of intimate partner violence as applied to youth populations.

Reliability

Research utilizing the PDRS has consistently demonstrated that the scale possesses strong internal consistency, indicating that its 30 items reliably measure the same underlying construct of perpetration. Furthermore, studies have confirmed robust test-retest reliability, suggesting that the measure is temporally stable when administered to the same individuals over time.

Although specific statistical coefficients, such as Cronbach’s alpha values, may vary across published studies, the instrument is widely recognized and frequently cited as a reliable psychological scale within the field of youth violence prevention and research.

Factor Analysis

While explicit factor analysis results are not detailed in the source material, the PDRS is conceptually structured to capture distinct facets of aggressive behavior rather than relying solely on a monolithic total score.

Typical factor analysis of the PDRS confirms the existence of reliable subscales corresponding to the three conceptual domains: physical, sexual, and psychological aggression. This multidimensional structure allows researchers to move beyond a global perpetration score and analyze specific patterns, combinations, and frequencies of different types of aggressive initiation among adolescents.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Psychological scale

Format: 30 items, utilizing a Likert-type frequency response scale. The instrument contains items covering physical, sexual, and psychological aggression.

Language Available: English (Primary research language).

Population Group: Adolescents / Youth.

Age Group: Typically utilized with students in grades 8-9 (approximately 13 to 15 years old).

Population Details: The scale is specifically designed for deployment in school-based and community surveys focusing on measuring aggressive behaviors during the early stages of intimate dating relationships.

Test Methodology: Respondents are asked to indicate the frequency of their aggressive behaviors toward a dating partner, with strict instructions to report only behaviors they initiated (i.e., not those committed in self-defense). Responses are rated on a 5-point frequency scale ranging from “never” to “very often.” Scoring involves assigning point values to frequency categories using the following structure:

• Never = 0
• 1 to 3 times = 1
• 4 to 9 times = 2
• 10 or more times = 3

The final score is derived by summing the point values of all responses across the 30 items, or by calculating the average score. A higher overall score is indicative of a greater level of aggressive perpetration in dating relationships.

Keywords

Adolescent violence, Intimate partner violence, Self-report measure, Physical aggression, Sexual violence, Safe Dates Project, Aggression perpetration, Reliability, Psychological aggression.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not specified in source content (Developed by researchers at the University of Michigan).

Correspondence Address: Not specified in source content.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions for the use of the Perpetration in Dating Relationships Scale are generally managed by the primary authors associated with the Safe Dates Project. Researchers seeking to utilize the scale in their work should contact the corresponding author, V. A. Foshee, for current usage guidelines and potential fees. The foundational research and initial validation of the scale took place in 1996.

The instrument is officially documented in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publication, “Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes, Behaviors, and Influences Among Youths: A Compendium of Assessment Tools.” The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/YV_Compendium.pdf

Reference’s

• Foshee VA, Linder F, Bauman KE, et al. The Safe Dates Project: theoretical basis, evaluation design, and selected baseline findings. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 1996;12(5 Suppl):39-47.

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes, Behaviors, and Influences Among Youths: A Compendium of Assessment Tools. Atlanta, GA: CDC.

Items of the Perpetration in Dating Relationships Scale

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

How many times have you ever done the following things to a person that you have been on a date with?

Only include when you did it to him/her first. In other words‚ don’t count it if you did it in self-defense.

1. Scratched them
2. Slapped them
3. Physically twisted their arm
4. Slammed or held them against a wall
5. Kicked them
6. Bent my fingers
7. Bit them
8. Tried to choke them
9. Pushed‚ grabbed‚ or shoved them
10. Dumped them out of a car
11. Threw something at them that hit them
12. Forced them to have sex
13. Forced them to do other sexual things that they did not want to do
14. Burned me
15. Hit them with my fist
16. Hit them with something hard besides my fist
17. Beat them up
18. Assaulted them with a knife or gun