Psychometric properties of Persian version of the infertile women’s exposure to violence determination scale (IWEVDS)

Abstract

To identify violence among infertile women, a specific tool is needed. “Infertile Women’s Exposure to Violence Determination Scale” (IWEVDS) is the only specific tool to assess violence against infertile women. The aim of this study was to determine psychometric properties of the Persian version of the IWEVDS. In this methodological study, content validity of the scale was determined following backward, forward translation. To assess the construct validity, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used through Partial Least Squares (PLS). To do so, the Persian version of the IWEVDS was administered to a continuous sample of 310 infertile women referred to a women’s hospital in Tehran. The results of the CFA confirmed the model and demonstrated a good fit on the scale. The Goodness of Fit (GOF) index and the Standardised Root Mean Residual (SRMR) with values of 0.42 and 0.056, respectively, indicate the adequacy of the overall model. The reliability of the scale is confirmed by the acceptable values of Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability, communality coefficient and Spearman correlation coefficient. The values of Cronbach’s alpha were 0.90 for domains domestic violence, 0.85 for social pressure, 0.86 for punishment, 0.7 for exposure to traditional practices, and 0.87 for exclusion. The results of the study revealed that the Persian version of the IWEVDS is a 28-item scale with good validity and reliability among Iranian infertile women. Therefore, healthcare professionals can use it to evaluate the infertile women’s exposure to violence.

Keywords:

• Infertility
• women
• violence
• instrument

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Shahid Akbarabadi Clinical research Development Unit (ShACRDU), Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS), Tehran, Iran for their collaboration throughout the period of study (Grant number: 15787). Also, we gratefully acknowledge the research deputy of Iran University of Medical Sciences for the financial support of the project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the research deputy of Iran University of Medical Sciences under Grant [15787].