Psychometrics of LOCA: Level of Conflict Assessment of Divorcing or Separating Couples

Abstract

This study provides evidence for the psychometrics of a 25-item instrument that measures divorcing individuals' perceived level of interparental conflict. The Level of Conflict Assessment (LOCA) was administered to 484 individuals who were attending a state-mandated parent education seminar for divorcing or separating parents. The unique feature of this instrument is that it was designed to measure perceived levels of conflict at the time of divorce. The internal consistency reliability of the scale was very high (α = .94). Through generalized linear modeling regression (specifically Gamma with log-link), five out of eight items were statistically significant, establishing a level of scale validity.

Keywords:

• divorce
• interparental conflict
• measurement

Acknowledgments

The development of this instrument was supported through a grant from the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Court.