# Global Validation of Measures for Intimate Partner Violence

> **NIH NIH R01** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $312,000

## Abstract

SUMMARY ABSTRACT
Significance. One third of women worldwide have experienced lifetime physical and/or sexual intimate partner
violence (IPV). IPV is associated with numerous health problems for survivors and exposed children. Given the
high global burden of IPV against women, the United Nations endorsed Sustainable Development Goal 5
(SDG5), to empower women and girls, in part by eliminating all forms of violence against them. Despite this
mandate, common instruments to measure IPV have not been rigorously validated across place and time,
leaving researchers and policymakers without clear guidance on the best methods to monitor trends in IPV or to
assess the impacts of prevention programs. Aim. We propose to conduct a rigorous psychometric assessment
of the domestic violence module (DVM) of the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), the most common module
to measure IPV in lower-income countries (LICs), and a similar IPV scale used across a consortium of
organizations conducting IPV prevention trials (IPV-Tr). We will assess the “measurement invariance” of items
in the DVM and IPV-Tr, to determine how similarly the items function across geographies, over time, and across
intervention arms. Data. We will leverage data from DHS undertaken since 2010 in 33 LICs that administered
18 similar items on emotional IPV (including controlling behavior), physical IPV, and sexual IPV to ever-partnered
women of reproductive age and from 3 randomized trials using a similar, but shorter module. Methods. First, we
will assess the (a) cross-national (N=33 countries) and (b) cross-time (N=5 countries) measurement invariance
of 18 items related to women’s experiences of physical, sexual, and emotional IPV including controlling
behaviors. We also will explore national and study-related characteristics that may account for any detected non-
invariance in the items. Second, we will assess the within-trial (N=3 countries) cross-arm and cross-time
measurement invariance of 8 items (IPV-Tr) used to measure women’s experiences of physical and sexual IPV
in randomized IPV prevention trials and assess the impact of measurement non-invariance on determination of
intervention impact. Third, we will assess the impact of within-trial (N=3) cross-arm and cross-time measurement
non-invariance of items measuring IPV and depressive symptoms (DS) on tests of intervention impact on DS
and the potential mediating role of DS within the treatment – IPV relationship. We will test these three aims using
multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis, multiple-indicators multiple-causes models, multilevel confirmatory
factor analysis, and multilevel structural equation models. Innovation. This study is the first to test the
measurement properties of the most common module to measure IPV in LICs and the impact of measurement
non-invariance on IPV prevention trial findings. Impact. Results will provide critical insights to national statistical
offices, ministries, bilateral/multilateral agencies, ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9994951
- **Project number:** 5R01HD099224-02
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Cari Jo Clark
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $312,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-15 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9994951

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9994951, Global Validation of Measures for Intimate Partner Violence (5R01HD099224-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9994951. Licensed CC0.

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