Adapting and Testing the Appraisal of Violent Situation Scales

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test the psychometric properties of a vertical version of horizontally oriented three Appraisal of Violent Situation scales that elicit women's subjective appraisals of severity, dangerousness, and controllability of violence. Construct validity of the vertical scale eliciting 64 abused women's perceptions of severity of violence experienced was supported by a low to modest correlation between that scale and the Severity of Violence Against Women Scale. Concurrent validity between the horizontal and vertical versions of the scales was demonstrated with a subsample of 26 abused women completing both. Results provide preliminary support for the revised scales.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Pregnancy Support Project Team: Barbara Hazard, RN, PhD, FAAN, Dean and Professor, William F. Connell School of Nursing, Boston College; Ann M. Chalifour,* ARNP, MS, Women's Health Nurse Practitioner, Manchester Obstetrical Associates; Mitra Perel,* RN, WHNP–BC, MS, Women's Health Nurse Practitioner, Ob/Gyn Associates of the North Shore; Lisa H. Tabenken,* RN, WHNP–BC, MS, Women's Health Nurse Practitioner; Sharyl Eve Toscano,* RN, CS-FNP, PhD, Assistant Professor of Nursing, University of Vermont; Margaret H. Kearney,* RN, PhD, Independence Foundation Professor, Director, PhD and MS/PhD Programs, University of Rochester; Joyce Dwyer, RN, MS, MPH, Associate Professor, retired; Loretta P. Higgins, RN, EdD, Associate Professor Emerita and Associate Dean retired, William F. Connell School of Nursing, Boston College; Cynthia S. Aber, RN, EdD, Associate Professor and Chairperson, retired; Deborah Mahony, RN, PNP-CS, DrPH, Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts, School of Nursing; Margaret C. Bell, RN, MS, MPH, CS,*** New England Research Institutes.

This study was part of a research project entitled Abuse, Women's Self-Care, and Pregnancy Outcomes, funded by a National Institute for Nursing Research, National Institutes of Health AREA grant 1 R15 NRO4246–01.

Notes

*Graduate students at Boston College at the time of the research.

**PSP: Pregnancy Support Project so named to protect the women participants.

***Project director during 3 years of NINR funding.