Beliefs Supporting Cyber Intimate Partner Violence Scale (BCIPV)

Abstract

The Beliefs Supporting Cyber Intimate Partner Violence Scale (BCIPV), developed by Gonzales and Mehari in 2023, is a specialized instrument designed to quantify normative beliefs that support or justify Cyber Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). The development process utilized rigorous psychometric methods, beginning with focus groups, a thematic analysis of existing measures, and expert review to generate the initial item pool.

The resulting measure was refined through administration to a sample of Emerging Adults. Through subsequent Factor Analysis, the scale was finalized to a concise 9-item structure, demonstrating strong reliability and validity evidence, including high internal consistency and strong correlations with cyber IPV perpetration behaviors.

Keywords

Cyber Intimate Partner Violence Beliefs, Cyber Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), Cyber Aggression, Attitude Measures, Antisocial Behavior Measures, Online Behavior, Psychometrics.

Authors

Gonzales, Jose M., Mehari, Krista R.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the BCIPV scale is to quantitatively assess individuals’ attitudes regarding the acceptability and justification of Cyber Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). This instrument focuses specifically on measuring normative beliefs—the perceived social norms or personal acceptance—that support these digital forms of aggressive or controlling behavior within intimate relationships.

By measuring these underlying beliefs, the scale serves as a critical tool for researchers and clinicians seeking to understand the cognitive mechanisms that precede and maintain cyber IPV perpetration, distinguishing attitudes toward digital abuse from those concerning physical violence.

Construct

The psychological construct measured by the BCIPV is the degree to which an individual holds normative beliefs supporting cyber IPV. This construct is distinct from actual perpetration behavior, focusing instead on the cognitive framework that legitimizes or minimizes digitally mediated aggression, surveillance, and control within a romantic or dating context.

The scale assumes that permissive attitudes regarding behaviors such as digital monitoring, harassment via text, or non-consensual sharing of information are key precursors to the engagement in these specific forms of Intimate Partner Violence.

Validity

The validation process for the BCIPV provided robust evidence across multiple domains, confirming its appropriateness for measuring beliefs supporting cyber IPV:

• Construct Validity: As predicted, beliefs measured by the BCIPV were moderately correlated with existing measures of attitudes toward control (r[259] = .22, p < .001) and attitudes toward abuse behaviors (r[259] = .50, p < .001). Crucially, the scale demonstrated discriminant ability regarding physical violence, showing no significant correlation with attitudes about physical IPV (r[259] = .02, p = .978), supporting the scale’s focus on cyber-specific attitudes.
• Concurrent Validity: The BCIPV showed strong correlations with actual cyber IPV perpetration behaviors. Large correlations were found with both direct cyber violence (r[259] = .55, p < .001) and cyber control and monitoring (r[259] = .52, p < .001). Furthermore, beliefs supporting cyber IPV showed a moderate correlation with in-person physical IPV perpetration (r[259] = .47, p < .001) and in-person psychological IPV (r[259] = .43, p < .001), suggesting that permissive cyber beliefs are linked to broader patterns of relationship aggression.
• Discriminant Validity: The scale successfully differentiated the measured construct from extraneous variables. A small negative correlation was observed between beliefs supporting cyber IPV and social desirability (r[259] = –.19, p < .01), supporting discriminant validity.

Reliability

The BCIPV demonstrated excellent internal consistency, a critical measure of reliability, based on the sample of Emerging Adults. The calculated Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the final 9-item scale was reported as α = .97. This exceptionally high value suggests that all items within the measure are highly homogenous and measure the same underlying construct effectively.

Factor Analysis

The development of the BCIPV involved both Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to determine the optimal structure. Initially, EFA was conducted on 29 items, where both 1-factor and 2-factor solutions demonstrated adequate fit based on standard criteria (cut-off score of .4, Kaiser’s criterion value above 1, CFI, TLI, and RMSEA).

Upon reviewing item loadings, the researchers observed that 26 of the 29 items were highly correlated (minimum r > .6), strongly suggesting homogeneous content and supporting a single-factor structure (Piedmont & Hyland, 1993). The final 9-item scale was derived by selecting the three highest loading items from each initial question stem, ensuring strong factor loadings and adequate sampling of the normative beliefs domain. Subsequent CFA provided strong support for the final single-factor structure (χ² = 111.377 p < .001, df = 27, CFI = .992, TLI = .989, RMSEA = .158).

Instrument

Test Type: Original

Format: Participants respond on a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 = Strongly disagree to 5 = Strongly agree. The administration method is electronic.

Language Available: English

Population Group: Human (Male and Female)

Age Group: Adulthood (18 yrs & older); Young Adulthood (18–29 yrs)

Population Details: Respondents are Emerging Adults primarily residing in the United States.

Test Methodology: Test Validity, Construct Validity, Convergent Validity, Discriminant Validity, Test Reliability, Internal Consistency, Factor Analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis.

Keywords

Attitude Measures, Intimate Partner Violence, Cyberbullying, Antisocial Behavior Measures, Online Behavior, Beliefs, Norms.

Authors

• Jose M. Gonzales

  Author ORCID Identifier: No data is Available

  Affiliation: Cherokee Health Systems

  Email Address: No data is Available

  Correspondence Address: No data is Available

• Krista R. Mehari

  Author ORCID Identifier: No data is Available

  Affiliation: Vanderbilt University

  Email Address: [email protected]

  Correspondence Address: Vanderbilt University, Department of Psychology and Human Development, 230 Appleton Place #552, Nashville, Tennessee, United States, 37203, [email protected]

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Permissions: Contact Corresponding Author

Fee: No

Test Year: 2023

Reference’s

Gonzales, J. M., & Mehari, K. R. (2023). Beliefs supporting cyber intimate partner violence: Scale development and preliminary psychometrics. Partner Abuse, 14(4), 422–445. doi:10.1891/PA-2022-0022

Items of the Beliefs Supporting Cyber Intimate Partner Violence Scale (BCIPV)

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

This is a 9-item measure. The specific items are located in Table 3, Pages 432-433 of the source reference: Gonzales, J. M., & Mehari, K. R. (2023). Beliefs supporting cyber intimate partner violence: Scale development and preliminary psychometrics. Partner Abuse, 14(4), 422–445.