Victimization in Dating Relationships

Abstract

The Victimization in Dating Relationships scale is a specialized 18-item, self-report assessment instrument. Its primary function is to accurately measure the frequency and severity of both physical and sexual aggression experienced by an adolescent or youth from a romantic or dating partner. This instrument was developed as an integral component of the Safe Dates Project, a rigorously evaluated, comprehensive prevention program targeting dating violence.

A key methodological feature of the scale is its focus on primary victimization. Respondents are explicitly instructed to report only acts of violence initiated by the dating partner and to exclude any incidents where the partner may have acted in self-defense. This strict protocol ensures the data collected are critical quantitative measures for assessing dating violence prevalence among youth and evaluating the effectiveness of intervention strategies.

Keywords

Dating violence, adolescent victimization, physical aggression, sexual coercion, relationship abuse, Safe Dates Project, self-report scale, youth violence prevention, psychological assessment, intimate partner violence (IPV).

Authors

V. A. Foshee, F. Linder, K. E. Bauman, and colleagues (associated with The Safe Dates Project).

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Purpose

The fundamental purpose of the scale is epidemiological: to provide a reliable, quantifiable measure of exposure to physical and sexual violence within the context of adolescent dating relationships. By breaking down the experience into specific, observable behaviors, the scale facilitates rigorous research into the incidence and patterns of dating abuse among young populations.

Furthermore, the scale serves as a vital outcome measure for violence prevention programs. Its use within the longitudinal framework of interventions like the Safe Dates Project allows researchers to accurately track changes in self-reported exposure to relationship abuse over time, thereby providing empirical evidence for program efficacy. The deliberate exclusion of mutual aggression ensures the measurement focuses specifically on the experience of being victimized rather than involvement in mutual aggression.

Construct

The scale operationalizes the construct of Dating Relationship Victimization. This construct is defined as the cumulative exposure to physically harmful and sexually coercive acts perpetrated by a romantic or dating partner. The 18 items comprehensively cover a wide spectrum of aggressive behaviors, ranging from relatively minor physical assaults (e.g., pushing or scratching) to severe, potentially life-threatening actions (e.g., choking or assault with a weapon).

Quantification of the construct relies on a 4-point Likert-type frequency scale. This methodology transforms reported incidence rates into continuous numerical values. Consequently, a summed or averaged total score provides a continuous measure of the severity and frequency of the abusive experience, where a higher score directly correlates with a greater level of dating relationship victimization.

Validity

Although detailed psychometric reports (e.g., confirmatory factor analysis results) are not always published alongside the instrument itself, the scale demonstrates strong evidence of content validity. The 18 items were carefully selected to directly align with behaviors widely documented in psychological and public health literature concerning dating violence and intimate partner violence (IPV).

Its formal inclusion in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Compendium of Assessment Tools confirms its relevance and recognized utility in public health research settings. Functioning as a core measure in the Safe Dates Project, the scale is theoretically grounded in established models of adolescent relationship dynamics. Studies utilizing this instrument have consistently shown its effectiveness in differentiating between high-risk and low-risk groups, thereby supporting its strong criterion validity.

Reliability

Specific internal consistency metrics, such as Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, are not provided in the primary source description. However, instruments designed to measure facets of physical and sexual aggression within a single relational context typically achieve acceptable to high levels of internal consistency reliability, indicating that the items cohere well as a measure of a unified construct.

Given that the scale is frequently employed in longitudinal studies, such as the evaluation of the Safe Dates intervention, adequate test-retest reliability is paramount. High test-retest stability ensures that any observed fluctuations in scores over time genuinely reflect changes in the respondent’s victimization experience rather than mere random measurement error, thus validating the scale for tracking intervention outcomes.

Factor Analysis

The original source material does not contain empirical results from factor analysis for this 18-item measure. Nevertheless, comprehensive assessments of dating violence are typically subjected to exploratory or confirmatory factor analysis to delineate the underlying structure of the abuse construct.

Theoretically, it is highly probable that the scale yields a multi-dimensional factor structure. Potential factors might include a primary dimension of Physical Victimization (encompassing acts like hitting, kicking, and pushing) and a distinct secondary factor representing Sexual Coercion/Assault (covering items related to forced sexual activity). Such structural differentiation is invaluable for researchers aiming to develop targeted prevention and intervention strategies addressing specific forms of relationship abuse.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire measuring the frequency and severity of relationship victimization.

Format: 18 distinct items responded to on a 4-point frequency scale.

Language Available: English (The primary language of scale development).

Population Group: Adolescents and Youth.

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

Population Details: Targeted towards students participating in school-based research, epidemiological studies, or violence prevention programs.

Test Methodology: Respondents are asked to indicate how many times a dating partner has perpetrated each aggressive act. The 4-point frequency scale is scored using defined point values: Never=0, 1 to 3 times=1, 4 to 9 times=2, and 10 or more times=3. The final score is derived by summing the point values of the individual responses or by calculating an average score. A higher overall score signifies a greater level of experienced victimization.

Keywords

Adolescent health, dating relationship, intimate partner violence (IPV), Safe Dates, psychological assessment, frequency scale, youth abuse, self-report, relationship dynamics.

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Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not specified in source documentation.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not specified in source documentation.

Correspondence Address: Not specified in source documentation.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1996 (Based on the foundational publication in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine).

Permissions and Fees: The instrument is widely considered to be in the public domain for research use, primarily due to its publication within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Compendium of Assessment Tools. Researchers are typically permitted to use the scale for non-commercial academic and public health purposes without explicit fees. No specific fee structure is mentioned in the source documentation.

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.

The scale instrument is officially featured on pages 200-201 of the CDC publication, Measuring Violence-Related Attitudes, Behaviors, and Influences Among Youths: A Compendium of Assessment Tools. The original PDF containing the scale can be downloaded here: http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/YV_Compendium.pdf.

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Items of the Victimization in Dating Relationships

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

The introductory instruction for the scale is:

How many times has any person that you have been on a date with done the following things to you? Only include it when the dating partner did it to you first. In other words, don’t count it if they did it to you in self-defense.

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